text:
S/1994/674/Add.2 (Vol. V)
28 December 1994
Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts
established pursuant to
security council resolution 780 (1992)
Annex IX
Rape and sexual assault
Under the Direction of:
M. Cherif Bassiouni
Chairman and Rapporteur on the Gathering
and Analysis of the Facts, Commission of Experts
Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 780 (1992)
Principal Legal Analyst:
Marcia L. McCormick, IHRLI Staff Attorney
Patsy Campbell, IHRLI Staff Attorney
Stacey White, IHRLI Volunteer Analyst
Azra Mehdi, IHRLI Volunteer Analyst
Monica Witczak, IHRLI Volunteer Analyst
The Staff of the International Human Rights
Law Institute, DePaul University
The question of the credibility of victims and witnesses and the reliability of the information provided has been foremost in the consideration of this analysis. Indeed, some of the information provided, as described below, is general, generic, or insufficient. But such information may none the less be credible because of some particular details it may contain and because of other corroborating facts. Furthermore, interviews, whether conducted by the Commission or by certain governments, of victims and witnesses in sufficient numbers confirm certain accounts. Such interviews also provide a first hand account and description of certain facts, which are also found in the documentation available in the database. Thus, it is the cumulative nature of the information which tends to corroborate the facts about incidents in the locations described, as well as patterns of behaviour. Consequently, it is this cumulative effect which gives the information credibility and reliability. This is also the basis which provides a sufficient numerical basis to develop a statistical analysis from which to derive the conclusions described below. Thus, for example, of the 1,100 cases examined, it is possible to identify with some degree of accuracy the patterns described in paragraphs 8 through 25. The macroanalysis aspect of this report is therefore well founded on the facts. Obviously, individual cases and their level of readiness for prosecution will vary and, without speculating on any ultimate prosecutorial outcome, it could easily be surmised that no less than 10 percent of these reports are very likely cases for prosecution. Finally, the analysis of allegations by geographical location has been written in a way to conceal the identities of victims, witnesses, and alleged perpetrators, for confidentiality and security reasons. The vagueness present should not be taken for a lack of information. Names have been provided when they are taken from widely published sources like the news media.
The relevance of the study is therefore threefold: 1) it identifies specific individual cases, patterns and policies; 2) it establishes foundations in fact for allegations of rape and sexual assault in this conflict, and more particularly their use as an instrument of war; and 3) it serves as a basis for the eventual prosecution by the ICTFY of rape and sexual assault cases, particularly with respect to the prosecution of commanders and other decision makers who may have been responsible for individual conduct and formulating policy. A most significant corollary of the study is that it has identified a number of cases ready for the final investigatory stages leading to prosecution.
This is a study by IHRLI of allegations of systematic rape and other forms of sexual assault perpetrated in the former Yugoslavia. The information for the study comes from the sources stated in paragraph 1. The database contains tens of thousands of allegations of rape and sexual assault. Rape is defined for the purposes of the study as nonconsensual sexual penetration, while sexual assault encompasses rape and other forced or coerced sexual acts. It also includes sexual mutilations for purposes of this study. When duplicated information is eliminated and the most general allegations discarded, *4 the following statistics are revealed:
There are about 162 detention sites in the former Yugoslavia where people were detained and sexually assaulted:
This statistical information may not represent the true extent of what has occurred in the former Yugoslavia. This shortfall may be due to a variety of reasons:
These concerns are evidenced in many of the reports used in this study. Submitting sources often withhold the names of victims, witnesses or perpetrators to protect them. Additionally, many of the witnesses who gave testimony stated that they were afraid to allow their identity to be revealed because of retaliation by the alleged perpetrators or rejection by their own community. Some of the victims report that the people who assaulted them said never to tell what had happened or they would hunt down the victims and kill them.
To analyse the contents of the database, all of the allegations of rape and sexual assault were gathered. Summary sheets were created for each allegation. These worksheets separated out some of the vital information, such as the identity of the witness who reported the incident, the identity of the victims and perpetrators, the date and location of the incident, the source of the report, and the method of recording the information. The worksheets also contained a comprehensive summary of the incident of rape and sexual assault. These summary sheets were then used as analytical tools to compare the information in a standardized format. They were organized geographically, divided by the setting in which they allegedly occurred, and arranged chronologically within that subheading. The analysis which follows is also organized geographically by county in alphabetical order. This particular form was chosen because of the number of «warring factions», and the generally confusing nature of the conflict.
The setting was defined as either custodial or noncustodial, and those reports which did not specify the setting were assumed not to have occurred in custody. *12 This classification was used for several reasons, primarily because some level of organization and coordination is required to hold people in custody. The greater the number of rapes and sexual assaults in custody, the greater the likelihood of higher-level control over, or acquiescence to the practice. About 600 reported cases specify that they occurred in settings where the victims were held in custody.
Rape and sexual assault have been reported to have been committed by all of the «warring factions». Additionally, many ethnic groups *13 were reportedly victims of rape and sexual assault: Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats, Croatians, Croatian Serbs, Croatian Muslims, Albanians, Czechs and others. However, it is important to avoid moral equivalency in the analysis. The vast majority of victims are Bosnian Muslim and the great majority of alleged perpetrators are Bosnian Serb. Serbs reportedly run over 60 percent of the nearly 150 detention sites where men and women were allegedly raped and sexually assaulted. Finally, for purposes of prosecution, it is important to distinguish between «opportunistic» crimes and the use of rape and sexual assault as a method of «ethnic cleansing». Rape and sexual assault should be examined in the context of the practice of «ethnic cleansing»; discussed in Annex IV, and the practices in concentration camps, discussed in Annexes V and VIII. Most of the reported cases occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), *14 and none were reported to have occurred in Slovenia.
Several patterns of conduct are revealed in the reported cases, irregardless of the ethnicity of the perpetrators or the victims. These patterns are:
The first pattern occurs before any widespread or generalized fighting breaks out in a region. This type of rape and sexual assault is accompanied by looting, intimidation, and beatings. Tensions in an area grow, and members of the ethnic group controlling the regional government begin to terrorize their neighbours by intimidation, looting and beatings. Two or more men reportedly break into a house, intimidate the residents, steal their property, beat them, and often rape and sexually assault female residents. Some of the reported rapes and sexual assaults are singular and some are multiple. In either case, there is often a gang atmosphere where all the abuses are part of the same event, and all the attackers participate in the event, even if they do not sexually assault the victims. A distinct pattern of rape and sexual assault within this general type is peculiar to one area of BiH and Croatia. Paramilitary groups roam the countryside, abducting primarily Bosnian Serb women from their homes. The women are taken to a specific location, raped and sexually assaulted repeatedly, and then abandoned. The size of the groups of men range from four to 15. The victims are usually assaulted by each of the men in the group. *18
The second pattern of rape and sexual assault occurs in conjunction with widespread or generalized fighting. When forces attack a town or village, the population is gathered and divided by sex and age. Some women are raped and sexually assaulted in their homes as the attacking forces secure the area. Others are selected after the roundup and are then raped and sexually assaulted publicly. The population of the village is then transported to camps.
The third pattern of rape and sexual assault occurs in sites of detention or other «collection centres» for refugees. After the population is rounded up in a town or village, men and women are separated. Men are executed or sent off to camps, and women are generally sent off to separate camps. In these custodial situations, soldiers, camp guards, paramilitaries, and even civilians are allowed to enter the camp, pick out women, take them away, rape and sexually assault them, and then either kill them or return them to the site. There is a significant amount of gang-rape and sexual assault reported in this context, and beatings and torture accompany most of the reported rapes and sexual assaults. Survivors report that some women are taken out alone, and some are taken out in groups. The women who are not killed are eventually exchanged. Though this is the general pattern, there are also many allegations that women are raped and sexually assaulted in front of other detainees, or that other detainees are forced to rape and sexually assault each other. The sexual assault of men in these camps is generally public, and the men are not usually removed from the camp. In these camps, other forms of humanitarian law violations, such as torture, occur simultaneously. In camps with only male populations and in camps with mixed populations, men are also subjected to sexual assault. Examples of this type of camp include Serb-run Trnopolje in Prijedor, *19 Croatian-run Odzak camp in Odzak, *20 and the Muslim-run camp in Gorazde. *21
The fourth pattern of rape and sexual assault occurs in specific types of sites of detention. Survivors of some camps report that they believe that they were detained for the purpose of rape and sexual assault. In these sites, all of the women are raped and sexually assaulted, the raping is quite frequent, and it is often committed in front of other internees. In this context as well, beating and torture accompany rape and sexual assault. Often, the captors state that they are trying to impregnate the women, pregnant women are treated better than their nonpregnant counterparts, and pregnant women are detained until it is too late in the pregnancy to obtain an abortion. *22 Examples of this type of camp include the Serb-run Usara High School camp in Doboj, *23 Muslim-run Celebici camp in Konjic, *24 and Croatian-run Dretelj camp in Capljina. *25
The last pattern of rape and sexual assault is detention for the purpose of providing sex. Women are collected from their homes and from camps and taken to hotels or similar facilities where they serve to provide sexual gratification for the armed forces. *26 The women kept in these sites are reportedly killed more often than they are exchanged, unlike the female population in most camps. Additionally, unlike camp detention, the motive for detention of these women seems not to be to cause some reaction in the women detained, but instead to provide sexual services to men. The Yugoslav Mission submitted a list of such sites run by Croats and Muslims in BiH and the women's group Tresnjevka submitted a list of such sites run by Serbs in BiH.
In both custodial and noncustodial settings, many victims report that the alleged perpetrators state that they were ordered to rape and sexually assault the victims, or that they were doing it so that the victims and their families would never want to return to the area. Also, every reported case occurred in conjunction with an effort to displace the civilian population of a targeted ethnic group from a given region. Reports of rape and sexual assault between members of the same ethnic group are few and have some ethnic component, such as sheltering members of the target ethnic group or marriage to a member of the targeted ethnic group. Very few reports fail to display some ethnic motivation.
Some characteristics of the rapes and sexual assaults include:
There also are many cases where female victims are protected by someone from the same ethnic group as their attackers. Men take women out of the camps to protect them from rape and sexual assault, tell other guards or soldiers that the women are «taken», or help them escape. Women hide other women or bring them contraceptives. There is insufficient information on the sexual assault of men to determine a similar pattern.
Men are also subject to sexual assault. They are forced to rape and sexually assault women, they are forced to perform fellatio on guards and on each other, they are forced to perform other sex acts on each other, and they suffer castrations, circumcisions, and other sexual mutilations.
Some of the reported rape and sexual assault cases are clearly the result of individual or small group conduct without evidence of command direction or an overall policy. However, many more cases seem to be part of an overall pattern. These patterns strongly suggest that a systematic rape and sexual assault policy exists, but this remains to be proved. It is clear that some level of organization and group activity is required to carry out many of the alleged rapes and sexual assaults. One factor, in particular, that leads to this conclusion is the large number of allegations of rape and sexual assault which occur in places of detention. Out of about 1,100 reported cases, about 600 occurred in places of detention. These custodial cases do not appear to be random and indicate a policy of at least tolerating rape and sexual assault or the deliberate failure of camp commanders and local authorities to exercise command and control over the personnel under their authority.
Other factors to consider in discerning a possible pattern include: similarities among practices in noncontiguous geographic areas; simultaneous commission of other humanitarian law violations; simultaneous military activity; simultaneous activity to displace civilian populations; common elements of the commission of rape and sexual assault, maximizing shame and humiliation to not only the victim but also the victim's community; and the timing of the alleged rapes and sexual assaults.
The reported cases of rape and sexual assault contained in the database occurred between 1991 and 1993. The majority of the rapes and sexual assaults occurred during April to November 1992 and very few occurred before or after that. In the same time period, the number of media reports increased from a low of none in March of 1992 and of 13 in April 1992 to a high of 535 in January 1993 and 529 in February 1993. This correlation could reflect the lag in the ability of the media to cover the information, waning media interest in the subject, that media attention caused the decline, or that the purposes for which the alleged rape and sexual assault was carried out had been served by the publicity. The last two possible explanations would indicate that commanders could control the alleged perpetrators, leading to the conclusion that there was an overriding policy advocating the use of rape and sexual assault as a method of ethnic cleansing.
The numbers of alleged rapes and sexual assaults and the patterns present are different among the different countries. Most of the alleged assaults occurred in BiH in the latter two- thirds of 1992. All of the patterns described above were present. A smaller number of alleged rapes and sexual assaults occurred in Croatia, mostly in late 1991. There were only a few sites of detention, run by both Serbs and Croats, and most of the reported rape and sexual assault occurred when tensions were high in an area or in conjunction with the fighting. Nearly all the rapes and sexual assaults reported to have occurred in the FRY were committed while the victims were in custody. Most occurred in late 1991 in Begejci, Stajicevo, and Livade camps near Zrenjanin, Vojvodina.
Rape and other forms of sexual assault harm not only the body of the victim. The more significant harm is the feeling of total loss of control over the most intimate and personal decisions and bodily functions. This loss of control infringes on the victim's human dignity and is what makes rape and sexual assault such an effective means of «ethnic cleansing». *27
Some of the reported rape and sexual assault cases are clearly the result of individual or small group conduct, without evidence of command direction or an overall policy. However, many more cases seem to be part of an overall pattern. Factors to consider in discerning a pattern include: similarities among practices in noncontiguous geographic areas; simultaneous commission of other humanitarian law violations; simultaneous military activity; simultaneous activity to displace civilian populations; common elements of the commission of rape and sexual assault, maximizing shame and humiliation to not only the victim, but also the victim's community; and the timing of the alleged rapes and sexual assaults. The presence of these factors strongly suggest that a systematic rape and sexual assault policy exists, but this remains to be proved. It is clear that some level of organization and group activity is required to carry out many of the alleged rapes and sexual assaults. One factor in particular that leads to this conclusion is the large number of allegations of rape and sexual assault which occur in places of detention. Out of about 1,100 reported cases, about 600 occurred in places of detention. These custodial cases do not appear to be random and indicate a policy of at least tolerating rape and sexual assault or the deliberate failure of camp commanders and local authorities to exercise command and control over the personnel under their authority.
Some of the allegations of rape and sexual assault are clearly instances of a policy of commission. In some cases, military commanders and camp commanders are reported to have ordered their subordinates to rape and sexually assault people who were not members of the subordinates' ethnic or religious group. Other cases point to a policy of omission, where military and camp commanders failed to prevent such conduct and failed to punish their subordinates for such criminal behaviour when it was discovered. There is evidence that rape and sexual assault have been used by all parties of the conflict to displace targeted ethnic groups, though not necessarily as part of an overall policy of «ethnic cleansing». However, the vast majority of victims are Bosnian Muslim and the great majority of alleged perpetrators are Bosnian Serb. Serbs reportedly run over 60 percent of the 162 detention sites where detainees are allegedly raped and sexually assaulted. *28 Finally, for purposes of prosecution, it is important to distinguish between «opportunistic» crimes and the use of rape and sexual assault as a method of «ethnic cleansing». *29
This county is in the north-west quarter of BiH, and, according to the 1991 census, had a population of 195,139. Bosnian Serbs comprised the majority at 54.8 per cent, while 14.9 per cent were Bosnian Croat, 14.6 per cent were Bosnian Muslim, 12 per cent described themselves as «Yugoslavs», and the remaining 3.7 per cent were «others».
According to Helsinki Watch, which interviewed Bosnian Muslims in August of 1992, a succession of five draft notices had been issued to men in the Banja Luka area since April 1992, when the war began. The mobilization calls were broadcast on the radio, and those who responded were given mobilization slips, which allowed them to go to work. Men who refused to join the Bosnian Serb army were not allowed back into their workplaces. Businesses owned by Muslims were destroyed, and there was frequent, random gunfire. These circumstances caused the local Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats to fear attack and created in them a desire to leave the region. Additionally, notices were posted at the bus station, stating that unless Croats and Muslims presented documents from the local military stating that they had agreed to leave the area permanently, bus tickets would not be sold to them. *31
This section of the study contains 11 reported cases, none of which are direct testimony. Six of the reports *32 allege that the victims were Bosnian Muslim, while the rest do not specify the nationality, religion, or ethnicity of the victims. Many of the reports do not indicate the ages of the victims. The reported ages of victims fall between seven and 65 and most are women of reproductive age. Four reports state that the alleged perpetrators were of Serbian ethnicity, *33 but do not state their nationality. Three reports date the alleged attacks. One occurred in April of 1992, *34 one occurred on 27 February 1993, *35 and the third occurred on 29 September 1993. *36 The remaining nine reports do not state when they allegedly occurred.
Two of the reports describe assaults that did not occur in custodial settings. In February 1993, three uniformed Serb irregulars robbed a Muslim household and allegedly raped or sexually assaulted a woman in front of her husband. *37 In September 1993 two elderly women were reportedly raped in a village in Banja Luka. *38
Six reports describe rape and sexual assault in the Manjaca prison camp. According to Helsinki Watch, Manjaca had been a Yugoslav army camp before the war. It was situated on top of Manjaca Mountain, south of the city of Banja Luka, in Banja Luka county. Many prisoners from Prijedor were transported there. It was closed, reportedly with the help of the ICRC, between 14 and 19 December 1992. It held at least 3,917 prisoners. *39 Women were reportedly brought to this camp from many places in BiH. One report involves a woman from Foca in the south-eastern part of BiH, who was burned with «hot irons» during her detention. *40 Another report comes from a woman from Vlasenica, also in the eastern part of BiH. She became pregnant as a result of rape. *41 Finally, a report states that women were taken from Kotor Varos to Banja Luka and raped. *42
The most detailed report comes from a Bosnian Muslim woman, whose age and occupation are known. She was interned in the camp with her two young children. She states that two camp guards, identified by nicknames, raped her in front of her two children. Her daughter was also raped twice, but the perpetrators were not specified. *43 The same witness stated that she saw camp guards rape a seven year-old girl in front of her mother and other inmates. The girl died of her injuries. *44 The remaining two reports generally describe rape and sexual assault committed by guards and others at Manjaca Camp. *45
The last report in this section states generally that there is a «rape/death» camp, housing girls and women up to 25 years of age, at Laktasi in Banja Luka County. *46
This county is in the north-west quarter of BiH, bordered on the west by Croatia. According to the 1991 census, the population was 70,896. Muslims were the majority with 66.6 per cent of the population, Serbs comprised 17.8 per cent, 7.7 per cent were Croat, 6 per cent described themselves as «Yugoslav», and 1.9 per cent fell in the «other» category.
There are five second-hand reports in this section of the study: Two reports concern camps in the village of Ripac, *48 where Bosnian Muslim women were allegedly abused by Serbian forces of unidentified nationality. Another report alleges that there is a camp in Racic, *49 and a fourth report alleges the existence of a camp in a house run by an identified man. *50 At this house, the victims are described as Bosnian Serb. There is another report stating that the alleged victims are Bosnian Serb women. Rapes were said to have taken place in Baksais village hall. The alleged perpetrators are Tudjman militiamen, Izetbegovic militiamen, and local Muslims. *51 The final report states generally that many women were repeatedly raped in Bihac, and that a pregnant woman's abdomen was cut and the foetus removed. *52
Bijeljina county is in the north-east quarter of BiH, bordered on the east by Serbia. According to the 1991 census, the total population of Bijeljina was 96,796. Of this number, 59.4 per cent were Bosnian Serbs, 31.3 per cent were Bosnian Muslims, 4.4 per cent were described as «Yugoslav» and 4.9 per cent were categorized as «other».
This section contains 11 reports, 10 of which are second- hand accounts. Five reports describe rapes occurring in a setting where the victims were not in custody. According to one witness, a Bosnian Muslim machine technician, paramilitaries took over the town of Bijeljina in April 1992. Two paramilitary groups were involved: Arkan's forces and the forces of another identified man. The second man had reportedly been promised control of Bijeljina by Arkan. After they seized control of the town, the two groups conducted house-to-house weapons searches. While Arkan's men only looked for weapons, the second paramilitary group looted, vandalized and raped as well. *53
Janja, another town south of the town of Bijeljina, was attacked by Bosnian Serb forces in May 1992. One witness reported that her husband was killed and that she and her daughter were raped. *54 Another report states that there are allegations of killings and rape in Janja in May 1992 and later. *55 In December 1992, 14 Serbian soldiers broke into a house, beat the father and son of the house, and raped the mother and daughter of the house. *56 These incidents are among the seven which were non-custodial.
In addition, four custodial settings are described; one is the town of Janja, *57 another is the secondary school centre in Bijeljina county, *58 the third is a camp in Petkovici village *59 and the last is the barracks at Bijeljina, where a number of young girls are kept to be used as «troop comforts». *60 Most of the accounts do not discuss the time frame of the alleged assaults. The dates identified are April 1992, *61 May 1992, *62 and January 1993. *63
Only two of the victims are named. *64 The rest of the victims are unnamed; where specified, they are identified only as Muslim girls or women. Similarly, none of the perpetrators are named; where specified, they are identified as Serbs, though one report states that the perpetrators are Serbs under the control of a man with the same name as the paramilitary leader. *65
This county [¤]is located in north-western BiH, bordered on the north by Croatia. According to the 1991 census, the county had a population of 31,577, 69.1 per cent of which was Serbian, 20.5 per cent of which was Muslim, 5.8 per cent of which identified themselves as «Yugoslav», and 4.6 per cent of which were identified only as «other». This section of the study contains four reports of sexual assault. One report is testimony and three reports are second-hand accounts. Each of the reports alleges that sexual assault and rape occurred in a custodial setting. Two allege that there was a camp or brothel organized by an identified man in Mostanica. *67 One of these reports states that the victims were Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat. *68 The other two statements allege the existence of a camp where rape occurred. *69 One of these states that a camp was located in a gymnasium. *70 The alleged perpetrators were described in these reports only as Serbs. None of the reports gives a date of occurrence.
This county [¤]is in the north-western quarter of BiH, just east of Bosanska Dubica, bordered on the north by Croatia. It had a prewar population of 60,062, according to the 1991 census. Serbs comprised the majority of this county's population at 59.5 per cent, Muslims were 26.7 per cent, 5.4 per cent described themselves as «Yugoslavs», and 2.5 per cent fell in the category of «other». This section contains two second-hand reports, both of which allegedly occurred in non-custodial settings.
One report describes two rapes which allegedly occurred during the attack on Liskovac. The victims were Bosnian Muslim, but the perpetrators were not identified, except as men in uniform. On 1 August 1993, 12 men in uniform broke into a Bosnian Muslim home, beat the inhabitants, and destroyed their belongings. An 80 year-old woman who protested was shot in the head, as were two other men in the household. *72 Reportedly, the soldiers were drunk. *73 An 18 year-old in the household was raped repeatedly. *74 The group then went to a neighbouring house, where they beat and shot the Muslim owner, beat and raped his 27 year- old wife, and shot her mother-in-law dead. *75 The mother apparently tried to intervene. *76
The second report describes an alleged break-in and rape of a Bosnian Muslim woman in the presence of her family. *77 No further details were provided.
This county is located in north-west BiH, bordered on the north by Croatia. The population was 58,212 before the war. Muslims were the majority with 74.5 per cent, 23.6 per cent were Serbs, and 1.9 per cent were described only as «other». There are five reports in this section of the study, all of which are second-hand. Three reports allege the existence of a camp where Bosnian Muslim women are kept for the purpose of rape by Bosnian Serb forces in Jasenica, *79 and the other two allege the existence of such a camp run by Bosnian Serb forces for Bosnian Muslim women at the elementary school Petar Kocic. *80 Four reports are dated from May through July of 1992, and the fifth does not specify a date.
These counties are located in north-east BiH, bordered on the north by the county of Slavonski Brod in Croatia. *82 War began in these regions on 18 April 1992, when units of the Croatian National Guard of the Republic of Croatia crossed the Sava river, aided by members of the Croatian Democratic Union for the Commune of Odzak in the Republic of BiH. Croatian forces held this region until mid-July when they were finally forced to withdraw by the Serbs. Serb Army forces regained control of Bosanski Brod and Odzak between 13 and 15 July. The human rights violations contained in this report occurred just prior to and during the Croatian Army's occupation of this region. *83
Upon the initial Croatian offensive, villagers fled to surrounding towns yet untouched by the attack and to the safety of the region's forest. Those not immediately able to escape were either killed during the siege of their village or interned by the Croatian forces in camps. Many of those who had originally fled, to the forest and other villages, were later found and interned in these camps as well. The reports compiled here describe internment in the Odzak Camp of Strolit, at the elementary school in Odzak, and at the sports stadium in Bosanski Brod. It was in these camps and in the villages and forest of the region that violations allegedly occurred.
This section of the study contains 89 allegations of rape and sexual assault in Bosanski Brod and Odzak counties. *84 Forty- two of these allegations are in the form of testimony of the alleged victims and/or eye-witnesses; 46 are second-hand reports. Of the testimony, there are two particular incidents provided in the form of a confession by a Croatian soldier. *85 The victims and witnesses of the violations are both camp ex-detainees and inhabitants of the region. The majority of alleged victims are identified as Bosnian Serb or as being of «Serbian nationality», although a handful are identified as Bosnian Muslim. The reported victims of rape and sexual assault are mostly women between the ages of 9 and 65. The majority of them are of «reproductive age» (between 15 and 40 years old).
The main perpetrators found in this report are identified as Croatian. They are further specified to be members of the Ustasi, Croatian police, or Vatreni Konji. The Vatreni Konji, translated as the «Horses of Fire», is a paramilitary group, reportedly part of the 102nd Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council. In several reports, camp guards and the commander of Odzak camp are also alleged to have committed rape and sexual assault. Finally, in two reports, Muslims are reported to have acted with, and under the command of, Croatian soldiers in crimes against Serb civilians. *86
The reports in this section come from the following sources: the large majority of them were submitted to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights by the Yugoslav Government State Department or Charge d'Affaires; others came from the Serbian Council Information Centre; a number of reports regarding the «Horses of Fire» were submitted by the Inter-agency Group of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (IAGGFRY); several were sent by Amnesty International and Helsinki Watch; and a few by the Ministry of Health, Croatia.
From among the allegations, 33 reports describe violations occurring while the victims were in custody. Most of these incidents took place at the aforementioned camps. There was one incident in which a Serb woman was taken from her home by a former schoolmate, and kept in a vacant apartment near the stadium in Bosanski Brod for 10 months. She was raped there repeatedly by her abductor and once by his cousin. *87 Another instance of custodial rapes, which did not occur in the camps, involves the shipment of women from the region to Slavonski Brod and Kolibe, BiH. There, Serb and Muslim women from Derventa and Gornje Kolibe were kidnapped from their villages and taken to homes for «use» by the Croatian Army. *88
At the camps, different types of rape and sexual assault violations were allegedly committed. At Bosanski Brod, women reported being gang-raped, and also being raped repeatedly by the same soldiers during their entire detention. One eyewitness described a gang-rape in which a female prisoner was raped by 41 men before she was shot in the head. *89 Most often, the victims describe being taken by soldiers to a warehouse, warehouse office, or an area near an oil refinery to be raped. From the reports, it appears that most women were not raped in the main detention centres of the camp, although they were raped in front of each other. There is one allegation of sexual assault committed against men at Bosanski Brod. In this case, men were forced to perform fellatio on each other. *90
At the Strolit Camp and elementary school in Odzak, a number of other remarkable assaults occurred, in addition to rape. For instance, there are several reports from Strolit which describe «camp weddings» organized by a Croatian Army commander, who was allegedly the camp warden, and his assistant. These weddings were arranged with prisoner «brides» and «bridegrooms». The prisoners chosen for the «weddings» were to be as incongruent as possible in physical appearance, educational background, and age. *91 They were forced to drink alcohol and engage in sexual intercourse while other prisoners were made to drink, play guitar, and watch. *92 There are also reports from this camp of prisoners forced to have sex with an identified mentally- handicapped woman. *93 Finally, the majority of alleged castrations occurred in these two detention camps. The most graphic of the reported castrations involved a named Croatian woman. She is reported to have ordered a Great Dane to attack naked detainees and bite off their genitals. *94
Of the 56 allegations of non-custodial rape and sexual assault, 43 are linked to the Vatreni Konji, or «Horses of Fire». This group of paramilitaries would take women in Odzak from their homes at night to a house or forest to be gang-raped. The victims were either returned in the morning or abandoned outside the house or in the forest in which they were raped. Several reports describe the victims having to return home on their own, without clothes.
These «hostage» rapes allegedly occurred from May to August, 1992, with many of them taking place in batches (4 and 5 June, and 28 June to 2 July). The majority of reports describe the Vatreni Konji taking women from Novi Grad and its surrounding villages (in particular Posavska Mahala, where it seems many of the perpetrators were from). These men raped in groups of up to 10. Often, they were drunk and quite abusive to the women they raped. From the reports, they seem to have preferred young women, the youngest being a nine year-old girl. *95 Many of the victims report that they knew their assailants since they were all from the same region.
These paramilitaries were never detained or severely punished for their abuses because they are alleged to have threatened police and local officials. In one instance, the perpetrators were detained after the rape of a woman, but were then released when the residents of Posavska Mahala threatened Novi Grad with physical retaliation. *96 Today, many of the members of Vatreni Konji are still in flight.
Some non-custodial reports also state that victims were abused by the police or individuals who claimed to be the police. *97 Still others report men acting on their own. In these instances, it seems that certain individuals were simply taking advantage of the current climate of chaos in the region.
A number of locations were reported as sites of rape and sexual assault. They include:
Forty-one alleged perpetrators were identified by name in the reports. Among them was the Odzak camp warden, whose name appeared in at least four incident reports. Seventeen of the named perpetrators were specifically identified in as few as two reports and as many as eight. The following groups were also implicated as perpetrators:
This is a county in the north-west quarter of BiH, bordered on the north-west by Serbian Krajina section of Croatia. According to the 1991 census, the region had a population of 41,541. Serbs were the majority of the population, comprising 60.4 per cent, Muslims made up 33.9 per cent, 3.7 per cent called themselves «Yugoslavs», and 2 per cent fell into the category of «other». This section of the study contains only one allegation of rape. According to refugees from Bosanski Novi, many young Bosnian Muslim women from the town of Bosanski Novi were raped by unidentified Serbs. *98
This county is located in the north-west quarter of BiH and is bordered on the west by Croatia. Before the war, this county had a population of 15,552, according to the 1991 census. Serbs were the majority, at 75.2 per cent of the population, Muslims comprised 21.1 per cent, and the remaining 3.7 per cent were described only as «other». There is one second-hand report in this section, which is based on the victim's videotaped statement.
In early September 1992, two Bosnian Serbs from the town and three other Serbs came upon a group of Bosnian Muslims in a field in a town in this county. Two of the Serbs abducted the victim's husband and another man. The victim, a Bosnian Muslim woman in her thirties, was taken to a nearby house, forced at knife- point to strip, and raped by one of the Serbs. She was raped a second time by another Serb. The victim was released and found her husband who had been bound with chains, beaten and burned with cigarettes. The victim stated that she saw the soldiers take two young girls, aged 14 and 16, to the same house. From the girls' appearance, the victim concluded that they had been raped. *99
This county is located in the north-east quarter of BiH, bordered on the north by Croatia. The 1991 census places the population in the county at 32,835. Croats were the majority at 44.7 per cent, Serbs were 41.5 per cent, Muslims were 6.8 per cent, and 7 per cent were described only as «other». There is one general, second-hand report in this section, describing a rape by otherwise unidentified Serbs. *101 There are no more details given. A second report states that there were about 800 prisoners in a Serb-run camp in the county. The population at the camp were Croats, Muslims and Albanians. The night of 7 May 1992, one prisoner was forced to swallow his feces, while another was forced to perform sex acts on a fellow prisoner. *102
This county [¤]is located in the central eastern part of BiH, bordered on the east by Serbia. According to the 1991 census, there was a population of 33,575 before the conflict. Muslims constituted a majority at 64.2 per cent of the population, 34.2 per cent were Serb, and 1.6 per cent were described as «other».
There are three general reports in this section of the study. According to a 26 year-old Bosnian Muslim student, in the first week of May 1992, residents of Bratunac were rounded up and sent to the local stadium. There, prominent people were killed and young women were raped. The people in the stadium were then loaded onto trucks and taken to unknown locations. *104 Another very general report states that Serbs raided homes and raped young women. *105 The last report states that doctors at Bratunac hospital have treated Bosnian Serbs who were mutilated by castration or cutting their nipples off. *106
This county is located in the north-east quarter of BiH, bordered on the north-east by Serbia. According to the 1991 Yugoslavian census, Brcko had a population of almost 100,000: 20 per cent were Bosnian Serb, 45 per cent Bosnian Muslim, and 25 per cent Bosnian Croat.
This section contains 38 reports of rape and sexual assault in Brcko County. Twenty-nine are second-hand reports, while nine are testimonies. Four report occurrences in non-custodial settings, *108 and the rest report occurrences in custodial settings. The perpetrators are identified primarily as Bosnian Serb and Serbian Serb. Many reports, however, describe the alleged perpetrators only as Serbian. The reported victims are identified primarily as Bosnian Muslim, though quite a few are identified as Bosnian Croat. The reports are from the Bosnian government, Muslim non-governmental groups, the United States government, and various news sources. There are several detention sites referred to in this section. Notably, a number of the reports reveal an organized, systematic pattern of rape and gang-rape activity. *109
Brcko was reportedly invaded by Serbian forces in April and May 1992. A camp was set up in a port facility on the Sava river, near the Ina-Luka gas station. *110 The camp housed Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim males and females, *111 there was no effort made to separate the sexes. People were reportedly collected from the surrounding areas, segregated according to ethnic and religious affiliation, and then deported to Luka camp. One hundred to 150 Serbs from Belgrade reportedly worked in shifts of 50 inside the camp. *112 They wore green camouflage and green berets with two eagles on them. *113 These were the only Serbs allowed in the camp. They reportedly carried out interrogations, torture, rape and killings in small offices inside the two warehouses. At the corner of one warehouse was a room called the «rape room» which measured about 2.5 by 3 metres. This room was reportedly where women were taken and raped. Prisoners were taken in and out of the camp every day, and civilian officials visited for a few hours every day. *114
The victim selection was reportedly well organized at Luka camp. Several reports suggest that young Serbian woman was responsible for its administration. *115 Reportedly, she brought a nurse to Luka to «prepare the girls and make them calm». According to the nurse's report, she watched as the Serbian administratrix stabbed a girl in the breast and vagina with a broken bottle for resisting instructions. The girl subsequently bled to death. Instructions to the young victims included submitting to sexual exploitation. The process commenced with the camp commander selecting a girl whom he reportedly took to a private location, and then in groups of three or four, the camp guards selected and shared one girl between them. *116
The techniques of mistreatment, while similar to those reported in other sections, also included incidents of gang raping. *117 It was also alleged, that on a daily basis, young girls were picked and taken to a canteen where they were raped. *118 Sometimes the girls would disappear. *119 One report states that Serbs at Luka castrated 15 young men. *120 One perpetrator confessed that in one day he was allegedly forced to rape 12 women. *121 According to two reports, Bosnian Serb paramilitaries alleged that they were forced to rape women and kill men to prove their loyalty to the Serbian state. *122
Additional sources report the existence of a «Rape/Death» camp in Brezovo Polje, *123 also noted for its organized rape activity. Several sources testified to the sexual violence and humiliation suffered by women, usually Muslims, at this site. *124 Brezovo Polje is also the site where Serb soldiers allegedly rounded up Muslim women and girls and transported them to the Osnovo furniture warehouse in Caparde, Zvornik County. *125 The girls were allegedly raped repeatedly there. *126
Two sources report on the atrocities allegedly committed at the «Laser Company» restaurant in Brcko. *127 Several other facilities were reported as sites of mass rape and sexual abuse, including: Hotel Elvis, *128 Hotel Galeb, *129 Restaurant Vestfalija, *130 Hotel Galija, *131 Interpler factory, *132 camp at Borovo Polje, *133 camp at Loncari, *134 bordellos, *135 Serbian lines, and the Serbian military hospital. Another report suggests that there were about 3,000 ex- detainees in the free territory of Brcko, 1,000 of whom were women. *136 The reporter noted that approximately 500 of these women have been victims of rape. *137 In addition, a number of girls between ages 15 and 17 were allegedly held by Serb soldiers in three other locations for sexual purposes. *138 They include a coffee house called Westphalia near Stolina, a coffee house near Skijana, and a private house in Grcica. *139 Grcica is in the city of Brcko, while the other two locations are in the suburbs, in the direction of Bijeljina. *140
Most of the reported incidents occurred between April and July 1992.
Most victims were unidentified, but were described generally as Bosnian Muslim.
Twenty-six alleged perpetrators were identified by name in the reports. Among them were several military officials.
This county is located in the centre of BiH, just north- west of Sarajevo. The 1991 census places the prewar population at 17,266. Muslims constituted the majority at 75.6 per cent, Serbs were 12.3 per cent, 7.1 per cent were described as «other», and five per cent were Croats. There is one testimony in this section about a camp located in this county. A Bosnian Serb woman reported that she was abducted by 10 men in camouflage uniforms with lily insignia on their hats and raped repeatedly. *143 She was held in a camp with seven other women from 26 May to 15 August 1992.
The camp was reportedly run by a man, identified by nickname. The witness and other detainees were repeatedly beaten, raped, and forced to do hard labor. They also witnessed a father forced to rape his daughter. *144
The witness became pregnant and received an abortion in Belgrade. According to the doctor's case file, she was 20 weeks pregnant, depressed, anxious, tearful, overwhelmed, and had feelings of shame and suicide. It was the doctor's opinion that the witness required serious psychiatric treatment. *145
This county is located in the west central section of BiH. Before the war, it had a population of 46,843, according to the 1991 census. Muslims were the majority at 47.1 per cent of the population, Croats comprised 44.1 per cent, Serbs were 18.9 per cent, and 4.9 per cent were described as «other». There are eight second-hand reports in this section.
Fighting began in this area as early as February 1993. In conjunction with the fighting, Bosnian Muslim paramilitaries raped Bosnian Croat women. *147 According to the UN Centre for Human Rights, the fighting in Bugojno started on 18 July 1993. By 29 July, the HVO had surrendered. Immediately after that, 5,000 Croats fled at the suggestion of the HVO. About 2,500 civilians *148 and 350 HVO prisoners of war still live in the city. BritBat and the ECMM try to monitor the situation, but the remaining Croats are reportedly not well-treated. *149
Five reports, in this section of the study, concern rape in a noncustodial setting. In September of 1993, an identified person told the UN Centre for Human Rights that there had been five recent cases of rape, including one where the husband discovered his wife raped and dead, but was afraid to report it. Some of the victims found refuge in the local Catholic church. Apparently, the perpetrators were put in prison but then set free. *150
According to Major G. Binns, speaking at a briefing in Gornji Vakuf, in September of 1993, there were two documented cases of rape of Croatian women by Muslims, but the Major believed that there could have been as many as 10 cases. The ECMM has tried to investigate at least two of the cases. *151 These two women may be the subjects of the next report. The ECMM reported that on 17 August 1993, two women, aged 50 and 51, were raped near Bugojno. Two suspects were arrested. The alleged rapes were so «bestial in nature», that the reports are being submitted to the War Crimes Commission. *152 Another report, which may describe the same incident, states that two Croatian women were subjected to a night of multiple and continuous rape while others watched. The perpetrators were reportedly «known for such activity». *153
There are reportedly three sites where women are kept in custody and sexually abused. These sites were allegedly operative during 1992, before the Muslim and Croat fighting broke out. Serb women were reportedly held at each of these locations. At the Slavko Rodic factory, about 100 Serbs had allegedly been tortured by mid-summer 1992. Women were reportedly the principle victims of torture, and most were reportedly publicly raped by their «Ustasa jailers». *154 The last two reports allege that about 30 Serb women were kept at the Rostovo Ski Centre and about 15 Serb women were held at the house of a killed Serb, Relja Lukic, reportedly for sexual entertainment. *155
This county is in central BiH, just north-west of Sarajevo. According to the 1991 census, it had a population of 18,883. Croats comprised the majority with 48.1 per cent of the population. Muslims were second with 44.9 per cent, and 7 per cent of the population was described as «other». This section of the study contains three reports, two of which describe sexual assaults in noncustodial settings, and one of which describes an assault of a victim already in custody.
On 8 May 1993, a Muslim woman was raped by a man in HVO uniform. The perpetrator took her from her house to another house about 500 metres away, where he raped her. The police had two suspects and hoped to arrest them on 9 May. *157 Another report alleges generally that there was one incident of rape in May or June 1993. Reportedly, the military perpetrators were sentenced by an HVO military court. *158 These reports may be describing the same incident.
The last report identifies locations where Bosnian Serbs were held in custody by the Croatian Democratic Union. The site was called the «Black House» and housed both women and men. The witness heard his wife and daughter being raped in the cell next to his by a former co-worker. *159
This county [¤]is located in the south-eastern quarter of BiH, bordered on the south and east by Serbia. It had a prewar population of 8,919, according to the 1991 census. Serbs made up 52.9 per cent, Muslims 44.9 per cent, and 2.2 per cent of the population was described only as «other». This section contains one second-hand report from the government of BiH. It alleges that the elementary school in the county was used to house women for the purpose of sexual entertainment. The inmates are reportedly Bosnian Muslim, and the perpetrators are described only as «Cetniks». *161
This county is located in the north-east quarter of BiH, bordered on the north by Croatia. According to the 1991 census, Derventa had a population of 56,328. Serbs comprised 40.8 per cent of the population, 39 per cent were Croat, 12.6 per cent were Muslim, and 7.6 per cent were described as «other». This section contains two second-hand reports. One alleges that a 10 year-old was raped by a «Cetnik». *162 The other is a general report alleging that during a Serb attack on Derventa, they raped and killed residents. *163
This county [¤] is located in the north-east quarter of BiH. Before the war, it had a population of 102,546, according to the 1991 census. Muslims were the majority at 40.2 per cent of the population, Serbs were next with 39 per cent, 13 per cent were Croat, 5.5 per cent called themselves «Yugoslavs», and 2.3 per cent fell into the «other» category. This section of the study contains 34 reports of alleged rape and sexual assault. The alleged perpetrators are described, primarily as members of the Serbian forces, including the JNA, Serb militia, Cetniks, or members of Milan Martic's police forces, and the victims are identified primarily as Bosnian Muslim. The ages of the alleged victims were mostly unspecified, and ranged from 14 to 45, with most above 30.
The sources of the reports in this section include the governments of BiH, Croatia and the United States, as well as Helsinki Watch and news sources.
Several reports state that Doboj central high school, located in the Usara section of town, was a facility where hundreds of women and girls were detained and allegedly raped and gang-raped. One report details how the women and girls were collected and transported to the school. Serbian soldiers separated the women and children from the men in the village and then called names from a list. *165 Another report claims that the women were lined up for selection, some women were put on a bus and moved out of the area, while others were loaded onto a separate bus and sent to the high school. *166 One woman claimed that there were hundreds of people at the camp, *167 another placed the population at 600, *168 while a third stated that approximately 1,000 women a day were raped by unspecified men. *169
The quality of the sources and the corroborating testimony support the likelihood of the facility's existence. It appears that the reports are citing the same school, which seems to have been used as a rape camp for many months. The school was in operation as early as May 1992 *170 and as recently as January 1993. *171 Each day, soldiers came with flashlights and selected women to be taken to classrooms, where they were reportedly raped or gang- raped by as many as 10 men. Afterwards, they were returned to the gym. Many women claim to have been raped every day and sometimes by men they knew (despite the alleged perpetrators' efforts to hide their identity). *172 In addition to being raped, it is reported that the detained women were raped with foreign objects, urinated on, beaten, and spat on. *173 One woman stated that she was specifically targeted because she was the wife of a leader of the Muslim party. *174
The reports also claim that the alleged perpetrators made statements suggesting that a purpose of the detention and repeated rapes was to impregnate the victims. For example, one report states that the reason they were being held was to «make Cetnik babies». Other reports provide claims that indicate this to be the case. One woman testified that pregnant women were transferred to a hospital and fed twice a day, in anticipation of bearing offspring. *175 Another woman said a man who claimed to be a gynecologist examined the victims to see if they were pregnant. He said pregnant women get better treatment. *176
The second facility allegedly used for rape was the Serbian Red Cross Refugee Camp. Reportedly, victims were regularly taken from the camp to an apartment in Pijeskovi, a section of Doboj, where they were raped. After the rapes, they were returned to the camp. The process was repeated every few days. *177
Several reports detail rapes allegedly committed in the homes of the victims during June 1992. Fathers or sons were often present during the rapes. Four reports describe rapes that were perpetrated near the victims' male family members.
The following is a list of the locations of where sexual assault reportedly occurred in the area:
The dates of the alleged rapes were mostly in June and August 1992.
The victims were described primarily as Bosnian Muslim.
General Forces identified:
This county [¤] is located in the west-central part of BiH. According to the 1991 census, this county had a population of 24,232. The majority of the population was Muslim at 55.3 per cent, 38.7 per cent were Serb, and 6 per cent were described only as «other». There are two reports in this section describing sexual assault in a situation where the victims are in custody. The first alleges that a 22 year-old woman from Bugojno was kidnapped from a bus, on 27 April 1992, by Serbian forces. These forces detained her and another woman in a house for six months and raped them repeatedly until 10 July 1992. She was released in a prisoner exchange on 1 October 1992. *178 The second report appears to be a medical record of the woman described in the first report. Though it does not identify the ethnicity or nationality of the two victims, the perpetrators are named and identified. One was a civilian and the other a man in uniform. *179
Before the outbreak of fighting, Foca was a small, predominantly Muslim town in Eastern Bosnia. Based on the 1991 census, the total population of Foca was 40,513, of which 57.6 per cent was Muslim, 45.3 per cent was Serbian, and «others» comprised 3.1 per cent. It was one of the first towns Serb forces seized in Bosnia. Power was seized by three top associates of Radovan Karadzic: Velibor Ostojic, Vojislav Maksimovic, and Petar Cancar. These individuals are reported to have organized the military assault on Foca in April 1992, taking control of the region. *181
Serb forces have denied the foreign press and international organizations access to Foca since April 1992. Because they have only recently been given access, this document does not contain any new reports. Most of the information has come from refugees who left the area in August 1992. Because the accounts in this section allege the frequent transportation of victims from one site to another within both Kalinovik and Foca, all of the sites in these two counties are considered to be part of the same region.
There are reports of approximately 63 incidents of rape and sexual assault included in this section, 28 of which contain direct testimony from the alleged victims. Most reports specifically identify the victims as Bosnian Muslim, and many reports imply that the victims may be Bosnian Muslim, either through the events described, or by the name of the victim. There is one identified Serbian victim, *182 and one report alleges that Croatian women were sexually assaulted. *183 A few reports make no reference to the ethnicity of the victims in any way. The ages of the alleged victims fell between 12 and 43, and the majority were under 30. The perpetrators were described as Bosnian Serbs, Serbian Serbs, and in some cases merely as Serbs. Additionally, many were described as «White Eagles», others as Cetniks with Cetnik insignia, or generically as «Cetniks».
About 28 of the reported cases occurred in settings where the victims were not in custody. From April to September 1992, women were raped and sexually assaulted in their homes, the forest, and in other locations in the villages of Foca and Kalinovik. Most of these sexual assaults seem to have been coordinated with efforts to rid the area of Muslims. Several reported cases state only that women were raped. *184 Other reports contain more details and identifying information. For example, in April, three Bosnian Muslim women were allegedly raped in their home in a village in Foca. The women were 14, 28 and 31 years old. Reportedly, Serbian soldiers broke into the home. One of the soldiers was identified as a «Commandant». According to the victim and her mother, this man raped the 14 year-old and forced her to perform oral sex while her mother was in the next room. The other two women were raped in other areas around the house, but reportedly the assaults to the police, identifying one of the perpetrators. Reportedly, no action was taken. *185
In another incident in early June, a Bosnian Muslim woman described how she was raped in her home by an identified Serbian volunteer. She described herself as rich. The woman's husband and father were arrested in May. She described three groups of «Cetniks» who travelled through the town during this time, one after another. One member of the first group tried to protect the woman and her family from harm. The second group, called the «Celebici Cetniks», came through looking for a Serb soldier wanted for rape and theft. The third group contained the man who raped the victim. He and a companion came to her house. The companion unsuccessfully tried to stop the volunteer, who was drunk, from raping, so he protected and hid the victim's daughter. The volunteer raped the victim in her house. Afterwards, the victim fled and called police. Before the police arrived, men came to the house and shot at it, destroying much of the house. *186
Also in early June, four men, two in uniform and two in civilian clothes, went to a woman's house, looking for the woman's sister. They took the woman, her sister, and another woman. Two of the men allegedly raped the first woman in a neighbouring flat. She stated that they cut the victim's clothes off with a knife and said that they were going to show her what Muslim men did to Serbian women. *187 Another Muslim woman stated that she was raped at her home after her husband was arrested. Her mother-in-law and son were forced out and afterwards her house was set on fire. The family fled to Miljevina. *188 In another case, three identified Muslim women were reportedly taken from their house to a flat where they were raped by three members of the Serbian army. The men threatened to kill them if they told what had happened. *189
According to another Muslim woman, she was raped at a friend's house by three unknown «Cetniks» in mid-August. The men told her that they behaved better than Ustasi behaved toward Serbian women. A friend witnessed the rape. This victim also alleged that an identified woman picked women for Serbian soldiers to rape. Additionally, the witness stated that an identified Serb commander saved her daughter, by taking her to Belgrade and arranging for her transport to Germany to «his place». *190 Another identified Muslim woman reported that she was raped in her own home by one man she knew and two others. The man she knew said that he had to do it or the others would kill him. The victim and her family escaped the next day, when the men returned. *191
Another woman estimated that about 100 *192 young Muslim women were raped in Eastern Bosnia in June and July 1992. She stated that she was raped by a Serbian neighbour, a police officer. He said «it is war, you can't resist, there's no law and order». *193 This woman also stated that the real attacks in Miljevina started in August 1992. The alleged leader of the «Cetniks» in the area was identified by this witness. The witness stated that nothing bad happened while this leader was in the town, but when he left, bad things happened to Muslims. *194 In another instance, a Bosnian Muslim woman reported that she was gang-raped by uniformed men, and that a 19 year-old relative was also raped in her house. The women complained to the police, who reportedly told the women not to see a doctor but to go to Partizan Sports Hall in Foca and wait for an evacuation convoy. The women fled, after they saw four women abducted from the sports hall, and hid at a relative's house. *195
In another case, an identified woman stated that a man she knew forced her to help him steal from a house. He hit her and told her to «shake her ass». He raped her for two hours. The victim named a witness to the rape. The victim stated that she tried to run away, but the man returned with three other men. They took her to another house where the three men raped her. Her children were outside the house, and she stated that they knew what was happening to her. *196 Another Muslim woman stated that an identified woman *197 sent two Montenegrins to her apartment. She reported that they raped her several times, stating that she should give birth to a «Cetnik». *198
In a village in Foca, five young women were allegedly raped and sexually assaulted by Serbian neighbours. The men reportedly threatened to kill the women's children if the women told anyone of the assaults. *199 Another woman described how Serbian soldiers rounded up fellow villagers, divided them into three groups, and killed eight men. They chose girls and young women, tore off their clothes, and raped them. The soldiers killed any man who reacted. *200
Another Bosnian Muslim woman stated that she was raped in the forest by three men in Yugoslav Army uniforms. The men had been led to the woman by her former landlord. The woman became pregnant and was unable to terminate her pregnancy. *201 Outside the village of Foca, a witness reported that a «Cetnik» tried to rape a girl in the forest. The Serb forces were rounding up Muslim villagers. The girl ran and hid with her family in a dugout. The soldiers threw grenades at the dugout, killing the family. *202 Another woman hid in the forest to avoid problems with Serb soldiers. While hiding, she saw three identified men take three Muslim women to a house. The women later told the witness that they were raped. *203
These reports occurred primarily during the summer of 1992. At the same time, women were taken into custody and raped there. Beginning in March 1992, women and children were taken into custody. Women between 12 and 35 years old were reportedly taken out systematically and raped. *204 There were several sites where predominantly Muslim women were reportedly held and raped by Serbian soldiers. One of the sites was Velecevo prison. *205 Another site was the «Cetnik» headquarters in Brod, Foca, *206 and another was the police station in Foca. *207 The Hotel Miljevina was also allegedly used to house women who were repeatedly raped. *208
Several reports detail the removal of the population from two villages in Foca. People were rounded up in the villages in early July. The women and children were separated from the men. The women and children were then taken to a hydroelectric plant under construction. At the workers' barracks, the women were interrogated, and then raped and sexually assaulted. *209 Estimates of the number of women taken to this site range from 35 *210 to 50. *211 They were held at the site for about a day and then taken to the high school in Foca. *212
At the high school, women, children, and elderly men were housed in classrooms. Every day, women and girls were removed from the classrooms, taken to other rooms or nearby apartments, and raped. *213 One report stated that all women between 15 and 45 were raped. *214 There are no estimates of the total number of inmates at the school, but one report stated that one classroom held almost 50 women and children. *215 Some women were taken from their homes in surrounding villages directly to the school, without being taken first to Buk Bijeli. *216 According to the reported cases, women were also beaten regularly. *217 The women there were kept for several days, and the camp was reportedly closed 17 July. *218
From the high school, the internees were taken to Partizan Sports Hall. *219 There, women were taken out nightly and raped. *220 Many women were taken straight from their villages to the sports hall, *221 and at least two women were told by area police officers that they should go there for their own safety. *222
The population of the camp was estimated to be between 37 *223 and 74. *224 Every account describes the same scenario: Serbian guards or soldiers came into the hall at night, selecting women and girls, taking them to nearby houses, and raping them there. *225 Three reports state that women were raped in front of the other internees. *226 One report states that women were only beaten if they resisted rape, *227 however, most of the other reports describe frequent beatings. *228 One report quotes a named Montenegrin who beat up three girls for telling journalists they had been raped, as saying «Listen, it's better to be fucked than to be beaten and fucked». *229
Several reports state that the youngest, prettiest, and smartest women were targeted for rape. *230 Other reports identify young victims, which support this allegation. *231 The perpetrators were generally described as Serbs, and some were reportedly from Montenegro. One report stated that the sports hall was guarded first by Serbian police, then by retirees from Karadzic's Serbian army, and sometimes by special forces. *232 Another witness states that the same 50 men were responsible for all of the rapes at the sports hall. They reportedly slept during the day and raped at night. *233 Others imply that there were more men, stating that they were never raped by the same man twice. *234 Perpetrators reportedly stated that the women would bear Serbian children and that if any of the women told of the assault, they would hunt the women down and kill them. *235 Some members of the alleged perpetrators' ethnic group, and in some cases, some alleged perpetrators saved women and helped them escape. *236 The local Serb leader *237 is accused of running at least one bordello in Miljevina, and is also credited with saving several women from detention and from rape in detention. *238
Several reports describe an event that occurred the night before the camp was evacuated. At least two women were taken from the hall to an outdoor stadium, where they were gang- raped. At least one of the women was gang-raped by 28 men before she passed out. *239 The women were rescued by an identified Serb soldier. *240 On 13 August the detainees at the camp were reportedly evacuated. *241 At least some were taken to Montenegro. *242 However, according to one report, Partizan Sports Hall was used one more time to house about 150 Muslims from Miljevina on 2 September 1992. The detainees were there for about five or six hours, and were then taken to Gorazde. *243
Some women were taken from the sports hall and from villages and placed in houses, where they were kept for the sexual gratification of soldiers. These houses have been termed «bordellos». *244 One of these was reportedly organized by the local Serb leader. *245 It was located in a storehouse formerly owned by a named Muslim. There were 12 named women and girls between 12 and 27 years old. The house was operational from at least June 1992 until March 1993. *246 The girls were reportedly selected on the basis of the political activities of their relatives. *247
In another village in Foca, 28 women were allegedly captured and raped by Serbian army troops and paramilitaries. They were then reportedly kept in detention for three months to prevent them from terminating their pregnancies. *248
One more witness described a house where women were detained and repeatedly sexually abused. On 14 July 1992, she stated, Seseljovci came to the witness' village and rounded up women, children, and elderly. The villagers were reportedly taken to the Foca police station and then placed into four nearby houses. The witness stated that a soldier told her that they were placed in these houses because they were not worth a bullet to kill them. Day and night, the witness asserted, 4 to 5 guards took 2 to 3 women at a time and raped them. Reportedly, the Serbian Democratic Party President, identified by name, played a tape of Mars na Drinu, *249 and when this happened, the women were forced to undress. Men came and chose women to rape, reportedly seeking mother/daughter combinations. The witness stated that she was raped on two occasions, and once saw an 18 year-old raped by five men. The men who allegedly raped the victim told her that they would make her have Serb babies who will be Christians. The women were reportedly forced to drink alcohol and eat pork. The witness also said that the men had been circumcised and that they stated that they had been circumcised so that they would not disgust the women. The witness also identified a hotel in the Foca area where women were taken and raped. On 13 August the detainees were evacuated from the town. They were taken to the Sandzak region of the FRY. The witness was hospitalized for four days, and stated that 30 detainees from Foca *250 were pregnant as a result of rape. The women all had abortions except for one whose pregnancy was too far advanced. *251
There are reports of one more camp in the primary school in Kalinovik. *252 On 2 July 1992, drunk Serb militiamen reportedly broke into the school. One witness reports that they said, «Look at how many children you can have. Now you are going to have our children. You are going to have our little Cetniks.» They reportedly selected 12 women, took them to the Hotel Kalinovik, forced them to clean the hotel, and then raped them. The women were then returned to the school. Reportedly, 95 women were raped in the next 26 days. Pregnant women were spared, and women who became pregnant were reportedly thereafter spared. One witness stated that the first night, the militiamen randomly selected teenagers and raped them in bathrooms next to the gymnasium. After that, they selected women by name. On 29 August, the detainees were exchanged, and at least 15 women terminated their pregnancies in Mostar and Jablanica. *253
Most reports specifically identify the victims as Bosnian Muslim, and many reports imply that the victims may be Bosnian Muslim either through the events described, or by the name of the victim. There is one identified Serbian victim, *254 and one report alleges that Croatian women were sexually assaulted. *255 A few reports make no reference to the ethnicity of the victims in any way. The ages of the alleged victims fell between 12 and 43, and the majority were under 30.
The reports identified by name 50 alleged perpetrators by name. Five among them were cited in as few as two and as many as five incidents. One alleged perpetrator was the Chief of Police and another was a military commander. Additionally, several groups were identified as having members who participated in the commission of sexual atrocities, among them:
This county is located in the south-eastern quarter of BiH, bordered on the east by Serbia. According to the 1991 census, the prewar population of the county was 10,844, with 62.4 per cent Serb, 35.3 per cent Muslim, and 2.3 per cent described only as «other». There are two reports in this section of the study. One report is a general allegation that 12 girls from 12 to 19 years old were raped on 1 August 1992 by Cetniks from Miljevina. *257
The second report, which is testimony, alleges that Serbs, including «White Eagles», invaded Gacko in mid-June 1992. The report names several perpetrators but does not state how they were involved. Women were taken to a small hotel named Kosuta, which means «deer». They were taken to a large hotel room, searched for jewelry and money, and some were taken to a bedroom and raped. Men were reportedly taken to camps at Bileca, the next county south, and the women and children were returned to Gacko. On 4 July 1992, 780 women and children were reportedly taken to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. *258
This county [¤] is in the eastern central part of BiH, just northeast of Foca. The 1991 census places the prewar population at 37,505. Muslims were the majority with 70.2 per cent of the population, 26.2 per cent were Serbs, and 3.6 per cent were identified only as «other». This section contains six reports from the government of Croatia, the government of Yugoslavia, Helsinki Watch, and various news sources. All of the allegations concern rape and sexual abuse in non-custodial settings. Five of the reports describe 30 year-old Bosnian Muslim victims, who were allegedly raped in their homes by Serbian irregulars. *260 The reports describe at least two different victims, and may describe as many as five different victims. Without more identifying information, it is impossible to be certain. One incident allegedly occurred in April of 1992, *261 and one in July of 1992. *262 All of the reported victims were impregnated and currently in Zagreb.
The remaining report in the section describes a camp in Vitkovci, Gorazde run by Muslim «Green Berets». Bosnian Serb women were raped by Bosnian Muslim forces there. Men, women and children were also tortured and killed at the camp. The witness was imprisoned at the camp from 3 to 5 May 1992. *263
This county [¤] is in the central part of BiH. The prewar population was 25,130, according to the 1991 census. Muslims comprised the majority with 56.1 per cent of the population, 42.6 per cent were Croat, and 1.3 per cent were described only as «other». This section contains one general second-hand report alleging that Bosnian Muslims sexually abused Bosnian Serb women and girls and circumcised Bosnian Serb boys. *264
This county [¤] is in the south-west quarter of BiH, south- west of Sarajevo. With a prewar population of 12,664, Muslims were the predominant ethnic group at 72.1 per cent of the population, Croats comprised 17.8 per cent, 6.1 per cent were described as «other», and 4 per cent were Serbs. *265 This section of the study contains four general reports, two of which are second-hand and two of which are first hand testimony.
According to an identified person, in June 1993, Muslim fighters asked the population of besieged villages to leave voluntarily, men who did not, were killed, women were raped, and children were forced to carry ammunition for the Muslim troops. *266 The second report describes this killing by a special division of the BiH Army, the commander of which is named. In Doljani village, approximately 56 people were killed; men, women, children, and the elderly. The bodies were mutilated, and many men were castrated. *267 An eyewitness reported on this same massacre, detailing the castrations of the Bosnian Croat men of the Soldo family from the village. This witness stated that the attack was perpetrated by the MOS and members of «Zuka's special army». *268 A woman of the village identified another victim of the attack who had been castrated. *269
This county is in the north-western quarter of BiH. According to the 1991 census, the county's population was 44,903: 38.8 per cent were Muslim, 35.1 per cent were Croat, 19.3 per cent were Serb, and 6.8 per cent were described only as «other». This section contains only one second-hand report, stating that Bosnian Muslims sexually abused Bosnian Serb women and girls and circumcised Bosnian Serb boys. Reportedly, they also forcibly converted Bosnian Serbs to Islam. *270
This county is in the centre of BiH, north-west of Sarajevo. According to the 1991 census, it had a prewar population of 55,847. Muslims made up the majority with 54.5 per cent, 29.8 per cent were Croat, 8.8 per cent were Serb, and 6.9 per cent fell into the «other» category. This section of the study contains one first-hand account and one second hand report, based on a witness interview.
The testimony describes the alleged detention of a Bosnian Serb woman by two Bosnian Muslim men. She reports that she was held captive from mid-August 1992 until early September 1992. She states that she was released when her captors believed she had not been impregnated. Reportedly, she was evacuated to Pale, where she learned she was five months pregnant, and eventually went to Belgrade. *272
The other report states that the Bosnian army moved into the county, between 5 and 13 June 1993, and evicted Bosnian Croat civilians. The witness was given a free movement pass, and travelled with UNPROFOR to all the villages with Croatian populations. The witness stated that the Bosnian soldiers had raped and then killed Croatian girls. In the village of Slapnica, two women, 40 and 45 years old, named Jaga and Andja were killed. The witness found them dead in their bathroom and stated it was obvious they had been raped. *273
This county is in the north-east quarter of BiH, just west of Zvornik, which borders Serbia. The prewar population was 41,795, according to the 1991 census. Muslims were the majority ethnic group at 79.5 per cent of the population, Serbs were 18.3 per cent and the remaining 2.2 per cent were classified merely as «other». On 18 May 1992, a teacher from Donje Vukovinje was raped in her own house by two Muslim men, while her Muslim neighbour was present. The victim related her experiences to a field officer for the United Nations Centre for Human Rights in Tuzla on 12 June 1993. *274
This county [¤] is located in central BiH. The 1991 census placed its population at 24,081, with 51.7 per cent Croat and 40.9 per cent Muslim. The remaining 7.4 per cent were characterized merely as «other». On 17 April 1993, Radio Kiseljak announced that UNPROFOR was scheduled to have operations in the village of Rotilj the next day. On that day, shelling began in the village and the HVO moved in and asked everyone to surrender their arms. On that same day, some villagers went to the lower part of the village and found seven dead. One woman among them had been raped. *275 CANBAT LO, a part of UNPROFOR also reported that rape was committed in Rotilj. *276
This county is in the north-east quarter of BiH, just north- east of Sarajevo. It had a prewar population of 16,028, according to the 1991 census. Muslims were the majority with 73.3 per cent of the population, Serbs comprised 23.9 per cent, and the remaining 2.8 per cent were categorized as «other». According to one woman from Vlasenica, she and 42 other men, women and children were taken from Susica camp in Vlasenica on 10 August 1992. They were told they were to be exchanged in Tuzla. However, the women and children were put into a room in a house in Pelemis, Kladanj. There were about 15 women and 10 men in the basement of the house. There, seven girls, ages 14 to 16, were raped two to three times a week, sometimes during the day. No other women were mistreated. *278
This county is in the north-western quarter of BiH. This section contains 14 reports of sexual atrocities. Nine of the reports generally describe rape as a part of «ethnic cleansing» of Bosnian Muslims. *280 The alleged perpetrators are described as Serbs, Cetniks, paramilitaries, and Bosnian Serbs. The incidents described allegedly occurred in villages and the victims' homes. The timing of the alleged incidents was from May to October 1992, with most occurring from May to July.
One report describes a rape occurring in April of 1992. A young woman came to the town of Kljuc to pay a tax. While there, a tall thin soldier raped her in the municipal building. Afterwards, he told a fellow soldier passing by, «I've just had a sugary treat», to which the soldier replied, «Fiery are the boys from Ribnik». The victim did not tell her parents because she was ashamed. She left Kljuc in a convoy in September and gave birth to a boy in January 1993. She contacted her father, who asked her to join him but to leave the child behind. *281
In another report, a signed witness statement, the witness identifies a man who she says raped his Bosnian Muslim neighbour. *282 A third report states that in May or June 1992, eight Bosnian Muslim women were raped by Serbians in the town of Kljuc, in front of the house in which they were taking shelter. One 60 year-old woman stated that she was raped by three men, one of whom forced his hand into her vagina and forced her to lick the blood. Two of the women were killed. *283
In the last report describing sexual assault in a non- custodial setting with some detail, a 53 year-old woman reports that she was raped in her home. She was hiding there, with her husband and five other women, when Serbian soldiers broke into the home, forcing everyone outside. She was raped by three soldiers outside in front of the others. She was raped again on the side of the house until she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she crawled upstairs to her bed. One of the soldiers found her and raped her. He then put his hand inside her, pinching, as if to pull out her internal organs. He forced her to lick the blood off his fingers. *284 The woman's husband reported the rape to the police and she received medical attention. The police did not investigate or apprehend anyone. The victim and her husband fled to Travnik eight days after the assault. *285
This county is located in the south central part of BiH, approximately 45 kilometres south-west of the centre of Sarajevo. According to the 1991 census, the population of Konjic was 43,636. Of this number, 54.5 per cent were Muslim, 26 per cent were Croatian, 15.2 per cent were Serb and the remaining 4.3 per cent described themselves as «other». This section contains 24 reports of alleged rape and sexual assault, one of which is testimony, the rest of which are second-hand reports. One report alleges that a woman was molested in her home *287 . Two reports allege that Bosnian Serb women were raped at the elementary school Zvonimir Belisa Nono in Bradina. *288 The commander of this camp is named. *289 Nine reports describe events at Celebici Camp. *290 An identified Bosnian Muslim was reportedly the commander of this camp.
Five reports describe sexual abuse of Bosnian Serb women by the commander, *291 and one alleges that two men were forced to perform oral sex on guards of the camp. *292 These events allegedly occurred in May of 1992. Also in May 1992, a number of Serb women held in the Konjic Sports Hall were raped by Muslims. *293 The Sports Hall was also the site of an incident in which a Serb man was forced to have intercourse with a Serb woman while as many as 15 guards watched. *294
Some of the remaining reports allege the existence of a brothel in Buturovic Polje, *295 one at Amadeus Cafe. *296 One report states that a house in Dzepi was used as a rape camp *297 and that one woman who was raped there was also tortured and became pregnant as a result of the rape.
Two reports describe incidents in which unspecified women were raped in the village of Hlapcevici. *298
This county [¤] is located in the north-western quarter of BiH. According to the 1991 census, the population was 36,670. Of this number, 38.1 per cent were Serb, 30.4 per cent were Muslim, 29 per cent were Croatian, and the remaining 2.5 per cent described themselves as «other». There are 13 reports in this section, five of which are testimony, and eight of which are reports. The sources of these reports are the governments of the United States, France and Croatia. This section also contains news reports and a submission from Tilman Zulch.
Generally, the alleged victims are described as Bosnian Muslim, and a few are described as Bosnian Croats. They are also generally described as young. The alleged perpetrators are described as Serbian, some from the Krajina region. Four of the incidents described allegedly occurred in non-custodial settings, while the remainder allegedly occurred in custodial settings. Locations of alleged rape and sexual abuse include the Vrbanja lumber factory, a camp, brothels, and the Hotel Borik. Some women were allegedly impregnated and detained until it was not possible to obtain abortions. The events alleged in this section occurred from July until October of 1992.
Two testimonies (which may be from the same victim) describe an incident which allegedly occurred at the Vrbanja Lumber Factory in Kotor Varos, *300 where approximately 60 women and children were held after the occupation of the village of Dabovci. In August 1992, a 25 year-old Muslim woman stated that she was allegedly gang-raped repeatedly by Serbs. The rapes reportedly occurred at the saw mill after dark; the guards most often chose women between the ages of 16 and 35. *301
Two reports describe camps in which a number of women and young girls were kept for the purpose of rape. *302 In addition, two reports generally describe places of detention where girls and women were held for weeks or months for the purpose of rape. *303
Four reports describe non-custodial single incidents of rape, *304 all of which occurred in Kotor Varos. At least one victim became pregnant as a result of the rapes. *305 In one incident, a Croatian woman was taken with her husband to the police station, where the husband was beaten and the wife was raped by «prisoners». *306 The remaining reports generally describe instances of rape in the Kotor Varos region. *307
This county is located in the central western part of BiH, bordered on the west and south-west by Croatia. Data from the 1991 census indicates that out of a total population of 39,526, 72 per cent of residents were Croatian, 15 per cent were Muslim, 9.6 per cent described themselves as Serbs, and the remaining 3.4 per cent identified themselves as «other». This section contains one testimony alleging that Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim perpetrators organized a brothel in Livno containing Bosnian Serb women. Only one woman there reportedly was not Bosnian Serb. The victim's former schoolmate assisted in the transfer and placement in another brothel in Sarajevo. *309
This county is located in the north-eastern quarter of BiH. According to the 1991 census, the population of the county was 32,400. Of this number, 55 per cent were Serbs, 37.7 per cent were Muslims, 3.9 per cent were Croatians, and 3.9 per cent described themselves as «other». This section contains one testimony, supplied by the government of Yugoslavia and the newspaper Borba. This testimony alleges that a Bosnian Serb woman was raped by unspecified perpetrators during an attack on her village. She was later taken to a camp in Tuzla. *310
These counties are in the central south region of BiH. This section contains reports of 16 incidents of rape and sexual assault in the Mostar and Capljina region. According to the 1991 census record, the total population of Mostar was 126,067 of which 34.8 per cent were Muslim, 33.8 per cent Croatian, 19 per cent Serbian, and «others» constituted 10 per cent. The total population of Capljina was 27,852, of which Croatians were a majority with 53.9 per cent, Muslims comprised 27.7 per cent, Serbians 13.5 per cent, and «others» 4.9 per cent. The alleged perpetrators are described as Croatian paramilitary forces, though some are described as joint Croatian and Bosnian Muslim forces. The victims are described primarily as Bosnian Serb.
The patterns of reported rapes and sexual assault reflect the military activities in the area. In mid to late 1992, all of the reported cases of rape and sexual assault occurred in detention. The perpetrators were described as HOS members or generally as Croatians, while the victims were identified mainly as Serbs. Throughout 1993, cases of rape were reported, generally between Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims. Additionally, all of the reported cases occurred in non- custodial settings.
From February to November, 1993, Bosnian Muslim paramilitaries allegedly raped Bosnian Croat women in areas of fighting. Access to conflict zones was limited, however, so that investigators could not confirm many allegations or estimate the scale of the reported sexual abuse. *312 In April, on the West Bank of Mostar, two armed soldiers took an identified woman and her mother from their apartment. They forced the mother to cross the front lines to BiH territory. They took the victim to an abandoned apartment, where she was raped by them and another eight soldiers, one after the other. She was also forced to perform fellatio on several of the soldiers. The soldiers took her to the frontline and forced her to cross to BiH territory. *313 In another incident in June of 1993, four Serbian soldiers wearing stockings over their heads entered a flat and raped a Muslim woman living there. *314
Some of the reported rape cases targeted Croatians who protected Muslims, or Croatians and Muslims, in mixed marriages. In July, three HVO soldiers in uniform arrived at the flat of a Muslim woman married to a Croat. One stood guard outside while the other two entered the flat. The woman and her husband had been helping Muslims leave the West Bank of Mostar. The woman stated that the soldiers called her a «balija» and swore at her, accusing Muslims of killing Croats. She said that they told her that her husband was not a true Croat since he had married a Muslim. The soldiers then reportedly poured boiling milk on the woman's stomach and groin, and they both raped her. Her children were sleeping in the next room. Because of this incident and other harassment, the family fled the area for Croatia. *315 In another reported case, a woman reported that she saw HVO members abduct a Croatian woman. The victim reportedly was trying to defend a Muslim family. The two soldiers dragged her to another flat and allegedly raped her there. *316
In late September, two Muslim women were reportedly raped by HVO soldiers after being strip-searched. The alleged assaults occurred at a former Tuberculosis clinic in Mostar, called «the Dispensary». *317 This incident of strip search and sexual abuse was apparently not isolated. *318
In a custodial setting, sexual assault is reported to have occurred at the Dretelj facility, in a suburb of Capljina from approximately April until late September 1992. The facility is a former JNA army barracks, currently under the control of Bosnian Croat forces. *319 One report describes the camp as a fuel storage garrison housing 64 female and 100 male prisoners. *320 Another witness stated that men and women were housed in separate hangars, and that 70 women from 30 to 80 years old were housed in the women's hangar. *321 A third witness estimated the female population at 50 and described the living quarters as barracks. *322 The camp was reportedly run by the HOS and an identified paramilitary group. *323 One witness stated that the camp was run by a named «General», but that another identified man was commander for three days. *324 It is unclear whether rape and sexual assault is still being reported in Dretelj or if the camp still houses women. *325
There are reports from several witnesses, naming 15 women victims of rape and sexual assault at the camp. They each describe the same scenario of Serbian men and women arrested and brought to the camp. There, the men were tortured and sexually assaulted, *326 and the women were raped. Men came into the women's hangar almost nightly, removed women, and raped them. The women were beaten and burned with cigarettes. *327 Though the majority of the internees were Bosnian Serbs, there was one Bosnian Muslim woman and one Bosnian Croat woman detained at the camp. They were both married to Bosnian Serb men. *328
One witness stated that she and other women and men were held at an old military hospital before they were taken to Dretelj Camp. At the camp, seven women and seven men were called by name. Two women were forced to perform sexual acts on each other, and the other prisoners were forced to watch. The men were beaten. They were all then taken to Dretelj Camp. *329 Another witness was detained longer. She stated that she and five or six other female prisoners were raped their first night there. One girl was raped twice. She and the other women were transferred to Dretelj after eight days at the military hospital. *330
There were several other sites where people were detained and sexually abused. One witness stated that three women held in the HOS jail in Capljina were raped there. The women were then taken to the old jail. *331 A woman, who may be one of the three the previous witness referred to, stated that she was held at Mostar University. She was forced to undress and was publicly raped. HOS members than forced three other detainees to rape her. She was then taken to the Celovina jail on Santiceva. *332 She stated that she was treated very well there. *333
A woman stated that she was taken to a tobacco warehouse in Capljina, where she was raped daily, forced to walk nude, and presented as a «Cetnik whore». *334 Two reports alleged generally that particular sites in Mostar served as «bordellos». *335 One of these sites was reportedly the Bristol Hotel. *336 An identified girl *337 stated that she was held in a big room with about 30 captured men and two other Serbian girls. She said that she was raped once by a neighbour and that the other two girls were raped many times. *338
Finally, three reports describe the rape and sexual assault of Serbian women by the HOS. *339 One of these reports stated that a camp was closed by the HVO because of the atrocities occurring there. *340
In custodial settings, Serbian women were identified as the primary victims. While later, when fighting between Muslims and Croats intensified, the majority of reported rapes were non- custodial and the victims and alleged perpetrators were Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croats. Many victims were identified by name.
Seven alleged perpetrators were named in the reports. Among them were the two former Dretelj camp commanders. The following is a list of the military affiliations of the alleged perpetrators as identified by some victims:
This county is in the central south part of BiH, between Mostar and Gacko. According to the 1991 census, the county had a population of 14,421, 74.5 per cent of which were Serb, 23 per cent of which were Croat, and 2.3 per cent of which were «others». This section contains one report from the government of Croatia alleging the existence of a site in this region where women are kept and used for the sexual gratification of men. *342
This county [¤]is in the north-east quarter of BiH, bordered on the north by Croatia and on the east by Serbia. This county had a population of 28,201 before the war, according to the 1991 census. Croats made up 75.3 per cent, 15 per cent were Serbs, 6.7 per cent were Muslims, and 3 per cent were «others». This section contains four reports of sexual assault, all of which allegedly occurred in custodial settings. The first report states that a woman was taken to a prison camp from 29 April to 7 October 1992. There, she was raped repeatedly by Muslim militiamen until her release. She went to the Hospital in Novi Sad, Serbia, where she was treated and given an abortion. She disappeared from the hospital. *344
The next report concerns a Bosnian Croat woman who was kept in a house in Obudovac, a village in the county. She was kept at the house from the end of October to the first week in January of 1993. Every day, usually at dusk, she was raped by about six Serbian or Montenegrin men. There were other women at the house, both Muslim and Croatian. The men stated that it was their goal to impregnate the women. The witness missed her first and second menstrual periods at the house. *345 Another report may concern the same woman. It describes a woman who was kidnapped at the end of October and released on 9 January 1993. She was raped every day, and realized she was pregnant on 17 November 1992. *346
A final report involves male victims. A Bosnian Serb male prisoner was detained in Orasje prison. There he was subjected to daily beatings and torture. One guard cut off his genitals and he died in Bijeljina hospital. *347
Prijedor straddles a corridor connecting the Serbs' two- thirds share of Bosnia with their one-third share of Croatia. Muslims were the majority with 44 per cent of the population, while Serbs accounted for 42 per cent of Prijedor's prewar population of 112,000. In this county, 5.7 per cent described themselves as «Yugoslavs», 5.6 per cent were Croats, and 2.2 per cent were described only as «other». After Bosnia's Muslims and Croats voted unanimously to secede from Yugoslavia in March, Karadzic announced that the Serbs would form their own, ethnically pure state. On 30 April, Prijedor's Serbs arrested top Muslim officials, and appointed Serbs in their places. Soon after, the new officials fired all of the Muslim employees.
Nine days after this coup, Prijedor's officials demanded that the Muslims sign loyalty oaths to the Bosnian Serb state or be considered terrorists. On 14 May, Serbs raised roadblocks around Kozarac and cut telephone service to the town. On 24 May, Serbian tanks, mortars and artillery barraged the village. This siege lasted for three days, and survivors calculate that 2,000 villagers were killed. When the town fell, Serbs reportedly gave the people 10 minutes to reach the town's soccer stadium. Some were reportedly immediately executed. At the stadium, men and women were separated and taken to separate camps. Allegedly, rich Muslims were a particular target, along with political leaders and police officers. *349
This section of the study contains 178 reports of sexual assault. Ninety four of these reports are in the form of testimony, while 84 are second-hand reports. The alleged perpetrators are described primarily as Serbian. Some are described generally as Cetniks, and some as Serbs from Serbia or Croatia. In some cases, the military unit of the alleged perpetrators is identified. Those units include the 6th Krajina Brigade, Banja Luka Corps, the Suva Rebra (Dry ribs) from Radomirovci, and the «Red Serbs». The victims are described primarily as Bosnian Muslim, and several are identified as Bosnian Croat. Their ages fall between the ages of 7 and 40, with most falling below 30. The sources of the reports include the governments of BiH, Canada, Austria, France, Germany, Croatia, and the United States; non-governmental organizations, such as Helsinki Watch, the Society for Threatened Peoples, Tresnjevka and Riyasat; as well as other news sources such as Newsday and the New York Times.
The reports in this section allege that assaults occurred from September 1991 to early 1993. Most of them occurred in May through August of 1992. (However, many incidents do not specify a date.) In conjunction with the fighting in the county of Prijedor, in May and again in July 1992, many women were raped. Some were raped in their homes, some were raped publicly and many were killed. This section of the study contains 33 reports of this type of noncustodial rape. The following villages are sites where this type of rape occurred:
Additionally, the reports in this section allege that Prijedor county was the site of many camps run by Serbs and housing mostly Bosnian Muslims, but also Bosnian Croats and other non-Serbs: Kozarac, Prijedor, Omarska, Trnopolje, Jajce, Keraterm, Ljubija, Ciglane, Mrakovica Mountain, and Tescic. Among these camps, Trnopolje and Jajce seem to have held primarily women, while Keraterm held primarily men. At Prijedor and Omarska, women were reportedly only detained to work in the cafeteria. Most of the reports describe alleged rapes that occurred while the victims were interned in Trnopolje camp.
Detainees at Omarska report that it held many prominent citizens of Prijedor County. Reports of the number of women held at the camp range from 13 *364 to 70. *365 Both of these estimates were made by male ex-detainees. Because the women were housed separately from the men, the women's estimates may be more accurate. The numbers of women range from 3 *366 to 36. *367 These women ranged in age from 14 *368 to «elderly». *369 Male detainees describe the female detainees as girls, many as young as 16. *370 However, women held at the camp describe most as professional women, which implies that they were older. *371
One woman describes how she was raped, by a member of the Territorial Defence Forces, four nights in a row. *372 The fifth day, the witness reported that an identified camp commander asked her if she had been abused or raped. She reported that she had not because she feared retaliation and believed the commander knew of the assault since he had invited her assailant to the camp. *373 Other witnesses also reported that this commander asked if they had been sexually abused. The witnesses stated they were beaten if they reported any assaults. *374 Another witness stated that this commander was one of the men who raped her. *375 Some ex- detainees state that women were raped one per night on an apparent schedule, *376 while others report that rape occurred often or nightly. *377 Many other witnesses at Omarska describe the rape of women there, corroborating these statements.
Male prisoners were forced to rape women and each other according to other reports. *378 Additionally, several prisoners were castrated. In one incident, two men were reportedly forced to castrate four men with their bare hands. *379 In another incident, one man was forced to bite off the testicles of four men, reportedly after performing oral sex. *380 A named guard forced the man to castrate the other four. *381 In another incident, one man's testicles were tied with a wire. The other end of the wire was tied to his motorcycle. A guard drove the motorcycle off, castrating him. *382 Prisoners were also reportedly castrated by guards. *383
There are 70 reports in this section describing rape and sexual assault at Trnopolje Camp in Prijedor. The population of the camp was between 3,000 *384 and 9,000. *385 Croats, Muslims, and other non-Serbs were detained there. Consistently, the reports state that drunk soldiers entered the camp nightly and selected women at random. These women were taken out and raped at a nearby theatre and in nearby houses. Some returned, but many did not. *386 Those who did not, may be buried near the lake on the south side of town. Prisoners state they were forced by guards to bury those killed. Men were also sexually abused. They were forced to rape female internees, and some were reportedly castrated. *387
One report states that girls and women were raped only once at Trnopolje camp. *388 That report states that drunk «Cetniks» burst into a hall, holding women and children. Some guards tried to protect the younger girls, wresting them from the arms of the «Cetniks» and saying the girls were theirs. The girls who returned stated that they had been raped. The commander apologized for the actions of the «Cetniks», and posted an armed guard around the women for a few days. He stated that he personally guaranteed their safety.
This is the sole account, of 70, that states rape occurred only one night. Based on the overwhelming number of allegations, it is much more likely that sweeps of the hall occurred more than once.
Keraterm camp was part of a ceramics factory in Prijedor and housed only men. Male ex-detainees report that men were sexually abused. They were reportedly forced to perform sexual acts on each other and on guards. *389 Two sources state that two brothers were forced to perform sexual acts on each other. *390 A man was also forced to sit on a one liter Coca-Cola bottle, forcing it into his anus. He bled severely. *391
Though Keraterm housed only men, women were reportedly raped there. One Bosnian Muslim woman reported that she was taken to Keraterm and raped by several men on 11 August 1992. *392 Another woman was taken there with her. They were transported to Omarska. Another witness stated that in mid-July, 12 to 15 Muslim women were brought in, raped, and then transferred to Omarska. *393
There was reportedly a camp in Kozarac, where Bosnian Muslim women were raped. This may be the same as Trnopolje, but there is not enough information to make a judgement. At the camp, ex- detainees state that women as young as age 13 were raped nightly. *394
Jajce was apparently a camp for mostly women. Reportedly, it had a population of up to 500. The report from this camp alleges that girls as young as seven or eight were raped, and that the reporter was raped by several men, one after the other. The men, allegedly wore masks and forced the women to say, «I am a Serb, I am not a Muslim». Many women and girls reportedly died after being raped. *395
Ljubija was reportedly a site where girls and women were kept in houses for the sexual entertainment of soldiers and other men. *396 Additionally, women were raped in Hambarine, at «Cetnik» headquarters. *397 The women's group Tresnjevka alleges that there is a camp in Duboki Potok, on Mrakovica Mountain. *398 There is also reportedly a camp where women are raped in Tescic. *399 Another camp was called Ciglane, which, according to one witness, had a population of 1,000. The witness asserted that women were raped at the camp and children were thrown into ovens. *400 Finally, several witnesses stated that there were abuses in camps in Prijedor, but they did not name the camps. These allegations mirror those at other camps where women were held. *401
Victims were generally described as Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat.
The perpetrators were usually described as Serbs or «Cetniks», many with no further information. At all of the camps, camp guards reportedly participated in sexual abuse of detainees. The camp commander at Omarska and the camp commander at Keraterm both allegedly raped women. Some victims knew their attackers, but many did not. Members of the following military or paramilitary formations were identified as committing rape:
According to the 1991 Yugoslav census, Rogatica had a population of almost 22,000 before the conflict: 60 per cent were Bosnian Muslim and 40 per cent Bosnian Serb. Presently, very few Bosnian Muslims remain. *403
The fighting in Rogatica apparently began on 22 May 1992, *404 and lasted for about two months. *405 From that point on, Muslim citizens were not permitted to leave the city. *406 The information suggests that the alleged perpetrators were primarily Serbian, and the victims were primarily Muslim.
Most of the reports in this section were obtained from the BiH State Commission on War Crimes. There are 31 reported incidents of alleged rape; of those, 11 are in the form of direct testimony from the alleged victims. *407 Several reports identify a detention centre at a high school, generally, or more specifically, at the high school «Veljko Vlahovic». *408 Other reports discuss a detention centre that bears similarity to Veljko Vlahovic, sufficient to assume that the high school was, in fact, the main detention centre for women and girls in Rogatica. *409 Nearly all the reports allege that rape occurred while the women were detained. *410 There was also a detention centre in the area for men, called «Sladara». *411
Up to three hundred women and children were detained at the high school centre from late May or early June until early August. The conditions at the centre were described as «terrible». *412 One report suggests that 21 people were detained in a classroom and were given food only after the fourth day of captivity. *413 Another suggests that only about 6 per cent of the estimated 300 detainees were permitted to return to their homes for food and clothing, and then only in groups of two. *414
Following the attack on 22 May 1992, the area was again attacked on 25 May and the residents were asked to voluntarily report to the high school centre or the city stadium. *415 According to reports, there was no physical maltreatment at the centre until troops under the command of «Arkan» arrived in late June. *416 Most of the reports of sexual assault refer to periods in July and August. *417
The reported methods of victim selection are consistent with reports in other sections. Women were kept in classrooms, and men allegedly came in at night, looking for young women to take with them. *418 Reports further allege that on some occasions the men called for women by name; *419 if they failed to answer when called, the lives of all other detainees were threatened. *420 On other occasions, the perpetrators simply walked through and, using flashlights, chose women. *421 The women were reportedly taken to separate classrooms, buildings, or apartments and assaulted. *422 This scenario apparently occurred every night. *423 Reports suggest that all younger women in the camp were raped repeatedly *424 and targeted for assault. *425
The techniques of mistreatment were various. Women were often interrogated, beaten, kicked, stabbed, insulted, and threatened in conjunction with the sexual assault. *426 In some cases, women alleged being forced to ingest quantities of alcohol, *427 to sit on anti-tank mines, to jump from windows and balconies and forced to attempt suicide. *428 Soldiers allegedly threatened to harm or kill their children if the women did not supply requested information. *429 Reports alleged multiple perpetrators involved in incidents of rape; one victim reported being raped 12 times in five nights. *430 Moreover, many women were pressured to denounce their religion, convert to Serbian Orthodox Christianity, and change their names. They were reportedly told that their lives would be spared if they complied. *431
Many reports identify the same perpetrators. These alleged perpetrators are believed to be part of a paramilitary troop known as «Arkan's» soldiers. *432 Nearly all the reports allege that the perpetrators were Serbian and also identify them by name. The alleged victims identified in the reports are nearly all Muslim.
All the victims were described as Bosnian Muslims.
Some 30 individuals were identified in the reports as alleged perpetrators. One among them was named in three separate reports.
This county is in the north-western quarter of BiH, south- west of Prijedor. According to the 1991 census, the county had a prewar population of 60,119. Muslims had a small majority at 47 per cent, while Serbs were second with 42.2 per cent. Croats were 7.1 per cent of the population and 3.7 per cent were «others». This section of the study contains two reports from the French government *434 and Tresnjevka *435 generally alleging the existence of a camp in Kamengrad, Sanski Most. Women are reportedly sexually assaulted at this camp.
Sarajevo is located in the south-eastern quarter of BiH. The Sarajevo region includes: Centar, Hadzici, Ilidza, Ilijas, Novi grad, Novo, Pale, Stari grad, Trnovo, and Vogosca. According to the 1991 census, the population of Sarajevo was 415,631. Prior to the conflict, 49 per cent were Bosnian Muslim, 29 per cent were Bosnian Serb, and 7 per cent were Bosnian Croat.
This section contains 146 specific incidents of rape in which the victims and many perpetrators were named; another 400 or so in which specific numbers of victims were referenced, but little else is revealed about their individual identities; and finally, 34 reports which refer to groups of children or women, generally, who were subjected to rape. The sources of the reports include the governments of BiH, Yugoslavia, the United States and Canada, non-governmental organizations, such as Helsinki Watch, and various news services. The victims and perpetrators reportedly come from all sides in the conflict.
On 5 April 1992, Serbs positioned mortars, artillery and snipers in the hills around Sarajevo and began laying siege to Bosnia's historic capital city. *437 The residents were driven from their homes and forced to seek refuge in other villages, cities, or countries. For those unable or unwilling to flee, enemy controlled detention facilities became their fate. Both the establishment of these facilities and the commencement of the incidents of rape, coincide with the beginning of the siege. *438 Rather than safe havens, these facilities have become known as centres for continued aggression. Just over 70 per cent of the reports indicate that rape incidents occurred in custodial settings.
The cities and suburbs surrounding Sarajevo appear to be the site of over 34 facilities, including schools, cafes, and private homes, where women and girls were allegedly detained for the purpose of rape. Reportedly, the conditions at almost all detention facilities were uniformly unbearable. *439 A former detainee at one facility stated that he and others were locked in a cellar, which he believed to be located beneath the Dobrinja Dental Care Centre, previously belonging to a shop that sold spare car parts. *440 Their Muslim captors kept the instruments of torture on a table in the cellar, which consisted of several metal bars, a hammer, a sledge-hammer, a police baton and a car- axle. *441 Another report examines the conditions at the «Viktor Bubanj» barracks where a dozen Serbian soldiers were held in a cell that can properly accommodate three persons at most. *442 In a correlating report, some 40 Muslim women were housed in a hotel in Vogosca. *443 All the women were forced to sleep together in one room in the hotel. *444
Evidence suggests that participants from each side in the conflict are responsible for the creation of such formidable conditions. Bosnian Muslim forces appear to have detained Bosnian Serb women *445 in several facilities. One such facility was the former «Viktor Bubanj» Yugoslav Army barracks *446 , which had separate rooms for oral and vaginal sex. Another facility was called the «Zagreb Hotel». *447 A third facility was the Zetra Sports centre, where both men and women were sexually abused. *448 Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat victims were also housed in a police school in Vrace, where they were reportedly raped. *449
Serb forces appear to have detained women--mostly Bosnian Muslim women--in various facilities for the purpose of rape. In the Sarajevo housing estates, Vraca, Aerodrom, and Grbavica, a large number of Muslim women have been confined and raped. *450 Also in the Hadzici Sports Centre, Muslim victims were subjected to beatings and forced sexual acts. *451 Several reports and testimonies refer to the rape and sexual abuse of quite a few Muslim women at a Serbian controlled facility, known as Sonja's Kon-Tiki in Vogosca. *452
The reports also contain allegations of rapes committed outside of these special detention facilities, such as in victims' homes. Two members of Juka's Army are reported to have raped a Serbian woman in her apartment. *453 A 60 year-old Muslim woman, whose house was burglarized by Cetniks 62 times, was also then raped in her home by Cetniks. *454 Another elderly woman, who was 80 years old, was also reportedly robbed and raped in her home. *455
Rape was widespread and began early in the siege. The first accounts of rape were recorded as coming out of Novo Sarajevo, Grbavica, Vraca, and Lukavica. *456 In Grbavica, an eyewitness reported that several Cetniks participated in the raping of an eight year-old girl in his neighbourhood. *457 Another report from Grbavica referred to a named Serbian perpetrator who, in separate incidents, raped two Muslim women in front of their handicapped husbands. *458 In yet another report, a 15 year-old Bosnian rape victim recalled how she and 20 other girls were housed by Serbs in a small room and raped until they were impregnated. *459
In Ilijas, Serbian forces were said to have detained women and girls following the mass exodus of Muslims and Croatians. The detainees were reportedly housed at the Oseren Hotel for use as prostitutes. *460
In Vogosca, one eyewitness reported the rape of several 13 year-old non-Serbians. *461 Another report states that five Serbs physically restrained a father, while a sixth raped his youngest daughter before him. The young girl did not survive the episode. *462 Also in Vogosca, a minor Muslim girl said that Serbian girls who were her schoolmates broke into Muslim houses and, armed with knives, forced little Muslim girls and women to go with them to Serb positions in Zuc where they were raped. *463 The same report states that Serbian homes were transformed into torture chambers for Muslim women. *464
Vogosca is also the home to one of the region's most notorious «Rape/Death camps»: Sonja's Kon Tiki Restaurant. It was reportedly a brothel with an attached concentration camp. The named Serbian camp commander, claimed that the brothel was filled with local women of low moral character whom he had invited, *465 but reports suggest that many women were abducted and taken to Sonja's for use by Serbian troops. *466 Several male prisoners reported being subjected to public sexual humiliation and forced to strip naked and commit sexual acts on each other. *467 It was also here that two children, 7 and 13 years old, were allegedly raped in front of their parents by 20 Serbian perpetrators. According to reports, neither girl survived. *468
In the city of Sarajevo, reports evidence the continued aggression between Muslims and Serbs. Among the 42 reports from Sarajevo, 26 identified Serbian victims of rape, 12 identified Muslim victims, and only one report identified Croatian rape victims. Rapes were reported in several areas including Ahatovici, *469 Zuc, *470 Vraca, *471 Vrace, *472 Dobrinja, *473 Ciglane, *474 Hadzici *475 and Pale. *476 Victims of war were detained in camps and brothels set up in areas such as the central prison, *477 the Viktor Bubanj camp, *478 Hotel Zagreb *479 Hotel Europa, *480 Bjelaven dormitory, *481 Borsalino Cafe, *482 Dobrinja jail, *483 Hadzici sports centre, *484 Civil Engineering school, *485 Primary School, *486 University of Zagreb, *487 Zetra Sports Centre, *488 as well as in several Serbian-run housing estates, *489 camps *490 and brothels in Ciglane, *491 and Pale. *492
In Hadzici, reports suggest that a camp was set up by Serbians at the Hadzici sports centre, which housed approximately 220 Muslim men. The report alleges that the detainees were subjected to forced sexual acts. *493 Reports also suggest the existence of a brothel in Hadzici *494 containing Serbian women. *495
In Ciglane Camp, Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats allegedly took Serbian detainees to a brothel. *496 Reportedly, the detainees were abducted and taken to the site in the camp and then raped repeatedly and regularly. *497 Victims were sometimes blindfolded before being taken to the locations where they were raped. *498 The reports also suggest that the predominant reason for the rapes was to impregnate the victims. Two reports quote Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat perpetrators as saying «We are making Serb bastards!» One report quotes a perpetrator as saying «tomorrow night you will be raped by men and you will bear a Muslim». *499 Another reason for the rapes appears to be revenge: one report quoted a Muslim rapist as saying that Serbs were doing the same to his Muslim sisters. *500
Borislav Herak, a convicted Serbian war criminal, stated that his commanding officers encouraged him and others to rape their captives as a means of raising their morale. *501 During his military trial, he testified that an identified Commander gave him the keys to the school in the village of Gornja Bioca and ordered him to go there and rape the women. *502 On some occasions he returned the victims after raping them, but, on other occasions, he simply killed them. He stated that the Commander of the detention facility in Vogosca, whom he identified, recommended that he do whatever he liked with the victims, but just «don't bring them back». *503 Excerpts from his trial suggest that on one occasion, he raped four women. *504 In other testimony, while reportedly acting under the command of Branislav Vlaco, Herak confessed to raping and killing 12 Muslim women who were originally detained at Sonja's Kon Tiki. *505 As a result of this trial, Herak was sentenced to death for raping 16 and killing 12 Muslim and Croatian women at Sonja's Kon Tiki. *506
There have also been allegations of sexual and other misconduct against UN peacekeeping personnel. One report alleges a conspiratorial relationship between the «Cetniks» and UNPROFOR. *507 This report revealed that members of both groups drank together and often had orgies together. *508 Furthermore, the report alleged that «Cetniks» often used UNPROFOR vehicles for their own needs. *509 Another report alleges that UN peacekeepers were regular visitors at the Serb-run brothel in Vogosca. *510 The report accused some peacekeepers of taking sexual advantage of Muslim and Croatian women, who were forced into prostitution, and failing to investigate either the Serb brothel or the detention camp after being informed of their existence. *511
Herak also testified that he saw UNPROFOR's Major General L. McKenzie in the company of four girls at the camp. He also accused other UN peace-keeping personnel of raping prisoners at the brothel. *512 The local Bosnian Serb Commander added that UN personnel were actually frequent visitors, *513 coming to the camp several times each week. *514 Refugees and former camp detainees concurred, saying that on six or more occasions UN peacekeepers were seen in the camp. A dozen Muslim witnesses offered strong statements that UN peace-keeping personnel had participated in the sexual abuses suffered by the female detainees. Young Muslim and Croatian women were allegedly forced into UN armoured personnel carriers in the area of Sonja's. One victim stated that she had been raped at the brothel by a UN officer. *515 One news source reported that as many as 50 UN personnel from France, Canada, Ukraine, New Zealand, and an unnamed African country were involved in alleged sexual misconduct. *516
This county is located in the north-east quarter of BiH. Before the war, it had a population of 9,639, according to the 1991 census. Serbs were 94.3 per cent of the population and 5.7 per cent were Muslim. This section contains four second- hand reports of detention sites where Bosnian Muslim women are sexually abused by «Cetniks». *518 One report alleges that Bosnian Muslim women were sold into sexual slavery. *519 These reports describe camps in Sekovici, but others, reported in another section, describe a «Camp Sekovici» in Tomislavgrad county on the western border of BiH. It is unclear whether all of these reports describe the same or different camps. The reports are not detailed enough to make any conclusion without further investigation.
The last report is the testimony of a witness of a rape in a prison in Sekovici. One night, a named perpetrator *520 went to a prison in Sekovici and tried to beat up some of the prisoners. However, a police officer at the prison stopped him. Outraged, the perpetrator went door-to-door through the prison until he found a 27 year-old Bosnian Muslim woman. He forced her to take off her clothes, raped her, and beat her until she was covered in her own blood. The perpetrator then asked the other prisoners if they wanted a turn with the woman. *521
This county is in the eastern part of the centre of BiH, east of Sarajevo. The prewar population of the county was 14,833, according to the 1991 census. The majority of the population were Serbs at 68.6 per cent and 30.2 per cent were Muslim. This section contains one news report, giving details of a woman detained in a camp at a school in Parzevici, Sokolac, *523 and testimony describing events which allegedly occurred at Slavisa Vajner Cica School in Parzevici, Sokolac. *524 These two reports probably identify the same location and the same witness.
The testimony alleges that Serbs from Serbia attacked the village of Parzevici in May and imprisoned 13 women in the school. *525 Women and a six year old girl were reportedly raped and sexually assaulted there. The women ranged in age from 6 to 30, and all the remainder were age 18 or under. The witness states that she was raped every night and sometimes twice a night. She was raped by five to six men and was able to identify four of her attackers. Among them were several identified perpetrators including a former police official. The others were unidentifiable and came from Serbia and only their nicknames were known. The witness became pregnant and asked for an abortion. The Serbs refused, saying they intended to have Muslim women give birth to «Cetniks». The women were all exchanged when the witness was in her seventh month of pregnancy. All but the six year old were pregnant. *526
This county [¤]is located in the centre of the eastern border of BiH. It is bordered on three sides by Serbia. The population was 37,211 before the war, according to the 1991 census. Muslims comprised 74.8 per cent of the population and Serbs were 25.2 per cent. This section of the study contains three reports of rape and sexual assault. On 17 May 1992, one witness reports that he witnessed the rape of a girl in a village in the region. The girl was killed. *528 In June, according to an autopsy report, another woman was raped and then killed. *529 A general report identified those killed and missing from the county. It states that most of the women on the list were raped. *530
This county [¤] is in the central part of northern BiH, just south of Doboj. It had a prewar population of 48,390, according to the 1991 census. Muslims were the majority at 72.7 per cent, 18.5 per cent were Croats, 6.4 per cent were Serbs, and 2.9 per cent were «others». There is only one report in this section of the study. Twenty-five women were kidnapped from Tesanj and taken to a nearby forest. For months, the women were raped, as many as 10 times a day. During the rapes, a Serbian guard told one woman, «Now you will have Serbian babies for the rest of your life». *532
This county [¤] is located in the centre of the northern half of BiH. According to the 1991 census, it had a prewar population of 59,632. Serbs were 55.1 per cent of the population, Muslims were 21.5 per cent, Croats were 16 per cent, 5.7 per cent described themselves as «Yugoslavs», and 1.7 per cent were «others».
This section of the study contains nine reports. Eight reports describe rapes at a camp located near Teslic. Of this group of reports, five discuss a 17 year old Bosnian Muslim woman from Kalosevici. A sixth report also may refer to the same woman. It is impossible to tell from available information if the same woman was the reporter in all six documents. It is possible that there were six separate 17 year old women from Kalosevici at Teslic Camp.
According to these eight documents, in March 1992, Serbian forces captured Kalosevici, a town near Teslic. *534 Prisoners from the town were taken to a camp in the forest, about five hours walk from Kalosevici *535 or 20 kilometres outside Teslic. *536 The camp was reportedly a complex of small cabins in the forest, run by Serbian and Bosnian Serbs. Some perpetrators are identified as members of the «White Eagles». *537 The camp allegedly held from 100 *538 to 1,000 *539 women and children. Allegedly, 12 of these women were repeatedly raped. The perpetrators came to the camp, raped women, and then left. The women were raped in front of each other and were told that they would bear Serbian children and that the perpetrators were raping them for revenge. Reportedly, some women were also beaten, and others were maimed or killed. The reports also allege that the detainees were forced to cook for the visiting soldiers and to serve them while naked. One report states that the commander raped 10 year old girls «as a delicacy». *540 The 12 women escaped with the assistance of one of their Serbian friends.
The last report describes the sexual abuse of men in a prison in Teslic and in a Serb-run camp. There, prisoners were forced to perform fellatio on one another at the prison, and some also were castrated in a Serb-run camp. *541
This county is located in the north-western quarter of BiH, bordered on the west by Croatia. According to the 1991 census, it had a prewar population of 17,209, 97.3 per cent of which was Serbian. The remaining 2.7 per cent were characterized only as «other». There is one general second- hand report in this section, which alleges that women were sexually abused in a camp in Prekale, Drvar. The perpetrators were described only as Serbian, while the victims were Muslim. *543
This county is in central BiH, bordered on the west by Croatia. According to the 1991 census, its population before the war was 29,261. Croats comprised the majority at 86.6 per cent of the population, Muslims made up 10.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent were «others». Two reports allege the existence of «Sekovici Camp» in this county. This camp allegedly held Bosnian Muslim women for the purpose of rape. *545 Reportedly, 300 Bosnian Muslim women were raped in this camp, *546 and some victims were as young as seven. *547 The last report states that a prison was set up in the village of Hascani, Tomislavgrad. There dozens of Serbian women and young girls were reportedly raped. *548
This county is in the north-eastern quarter of BiH. According to the 1991 census, it had a population of 70,402 before the war. Muslims were the majority at 45.3 per cent, 36.9 per cent were Croat, 11 per cent were Serb, and 6.8 per cent were «others». This section contains eight reports and is the only section, besides Sarajevo, where all three ethnic groups were reportedly both victims and perpetrators of rape and sexual assault. One report states that a Bosnian Serb woman was raped and then killed by Muslim/Croatian forces in July 1992. *550 In October, a convoy was detained at the top of Vlasic mountain and the riders forced to walk down the mountain into Travnik. Some riders were killed and women were raped. *551 In April of 1993, Bosnian Croats allegedly gang-raped Bosnian Muslim women in a house-to-house sweep. *552
The two remaining reports are undated. An official source reports only that numerous incidents of attacks on women and rapes in Mala Bukovica, Travnik, were reported. Two rape victims fled to Gracanica. *553 The final report states that Bosnian Muslims raped Bosnian Serb girls and women and circumcised Bosnian Serb boys. *554
This county [¤] is the southernmost county in BiH. Before the war, it had a population of 30,879, 69.3 per cent of which were Serb, 17.9 per cent of which were Muslim, 8.8 per cent of which were «others», and 4 per cent of which were Croat. *555 Some Muslims claim that Serbian authorities in the county forced them into exile in January 1993. One woman stated that four military policemen came to her house one night at 2:00 a.m., broke down the door, and raped her. As they left, they warned her that if she did not leave, then 12 men would come the next time. *556
The only other rape reported in this section occurred in July of 1993. Three men stole their way into the home of a Bosnian Muslim couple. They forced the woman and her husband to undress in front of each other in the living room. They bound the woman's hands behind her and raped her with a wooden baton and a spoon. She was then thrown onto a bed and threatened with further rape. Instead, the men bound her legs, threw her into the bathtub, and one of the perpetrators walked across her chest. She sustained broken ribs, a damaged lung, and other internal injuries. She remained hospitalized until the end of August, when her family was evacuated from the county. *557
These counties are in the centre of the north-east quarter of BiH. According to the 1991 census, Tuzla had a population of 131,861. Muslims were the majority with 47.6 per cent of the population, «Yugoslavs» were 16.6 per cent, Croats were 15.6 per cent, Serbs were 15.5 per cent, and 4.7 per cent were «others». Zivinice had a prewar population of 54,653, with 80.6 per cent Muslim, 7.3 per cent Croat, 7.4 per cent Serb, and 5.7 per cent «other». This section of the study contains reports of 14 incidents of rape and sexual assault in Tuzla and Zivinice counties. Only one of these reports is testimony. The sources of the reports included the governments of Yugoslavia and France and non-governmental sources.
According to these reports, Tuzla appears to be the site of several facilities where women were apparently held for the purpose of rape between approximately June *559 and November 1992. *560 The alleged perpetrators are identified as members of Bosnian Muslim, *561 Bosnian Croat, *562 and Bosnian Serb forces. *563 Most of the reports do not identify the ethnicity, nationality, or religion of the alleged perpetrators. None of the reports identifies perpetrators by name. The alleged victims were primarily Bosnian Serb women, *564 though many of the reports do not provide the ethnic, national or religious background of the victims. A few of the victims are identified by initials, age or village and complete personal information is reportedly in the possession of organizations that provided the Commission with the reports. One report alleges the existence of a camp for Bosnian Muslim women.
The reports identify several locations where rape was allegedly committed by Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat forces in Tuzla. One report cites a secondary school where about 100 Serbian women were reportedly held for the purposes of rape. *565 Another report cites a house on the road towards Srebrenik (near Previla), where about 15 Serbian women were held. *566
Four reports state that four different Serbian woman were held in one camp and raped up to five times a day for at least five months. Each woman was released in an advanced stage of pregnancy. Statements of the alleged captors and the pattern of release, indicate that women were uniformly not released until their pregnancy reached a certain stage. The reports do not provide detailed testimony from the victims, only a general description of how they were allegedly raped and the conditions in which they were held. *567
Another report describes how unspecified perpetrators surrounded the village of Brezje, divided women and girls into groups, removed 36 youngsters, pillaged the village, and then transported the women to Tuzla. The reporter spent five months in a camp with 10 other women and was raped. (It is unclear if this camp is the same as any of the previously mentioned camps. Further investigation is necessary to clarify this.) She was, however, kept until her pregnancy was well-advanced. *568
Another report cites a sports stadium at Zivinice and former police offices in Tuzla as places where victims were held for rape. *569 One report asserts that 200 girls, aged 15 and under, were held and raped in a camp in Lomnica. *570 Another report states that there were rapes in Tuzla and Zivinice without providing further detail as to whether they occurred in detention facilities. *571 Finally, one report states that women were raped prior to a prisoner exchange, but does not allege the exact location of this event. *572
The dates of the incidents were fairly evenly distributed from July through November. (However, several incidents did not specify a date and one allegedly occurred in «early 1992».) Most incidents involving detention facilities allegedly occurred in mid-1992 (i.e. June or July). Three reports specify that they occurred from mid-1992 to November 1992.
Croatian forces;
Muslim forces; and
Serbian forces.
No names or descriptive perpetrator information was provided.
This county [¤]is located in the centre of BiH, just north- west of Sarajevo. Before the war, the county had a population of 22,114: 40.6 per cent were Croat, 30.4 per cent were Muslim, 16.4 per cent were Serb, and 12.6 per cent were «others». *573 This section contains seven reports of sexual atrocities.
In October 1993, NORBAT reported that rapes took place in Vares. *574 No additional details were given in this report. In late October, the Muslim village of Stupni Do was attacked by the HVO. Two women who escaped stated that they had been raped in the attack. *575 Other women in the village were reportedly raped and then killed. *576 In November, Croatian soldiers raped a woman in her apartment in Vares. *577
This county is in the south-eastern quarter of BiH, bordered on the east by Serbia. According to the 1991 Yugoslavian census, Visegrad had a population of almost 25,000 before the conflict--63 per cent Bosnian Muslim and 33 per cent Bosnian Serb.
This section contains 33 reports regarding allegations of rape in the Visegrad region. Several of the reports are general allegations of mass rape in the Visegrad area, while others are more detailed testimonies and first hand accounts. *579 According to these reports, the Visegrad area was the site of at least four facilities, including the Hotel Vilina Vlas, where women were reportedly confined and subjected to regular and repeated rape.
The victims were primarily Bosnian Muslim women and teen- age girls. The alleged perpetrators were members of the Serbian forces. The purported incidents of rape began in the Spring of 1992 and continued through Autumn 1992. The reports do not indicate the duration of these rapes, however, two reports suggest that the area was «ethnically clean» by July 1992, *580 and that no Bosnian Muslims lived in the town of Visegrad after that date. *581
The Hotel Vilina Vlas was the subject of many reports. *582 The Hotel is located in a forest, about seven kilometres outside Visegrad, and is known as a spa or mineral thermal cure resort. It was apparently the site of many rapes. *583
One report estimates that 200 women, primarily Muslim, were detained at the hotel and sexually assaulted. *584 It states that five victims committed suicide and many others were killed. *585 One report claims that younger girls were taken to the hotel while older women were taken to other locations, such as occupied or abandoned houses, and raped. *586 The number and consistency of the reports provides reasonable confirmation that a large number of rapes did in fact occur in this hotel. *587
A particularly detailed testimony tells how an identified Serbian policeman from Belgrade and a man whose name appears often, *588 visited the home of two teen-age Muslim girls and took them and another young woman to the Hotel Vilina Vlas. *589 When they arrived, he instructed two other soldiers to interrogate two of the women and took one into a room with him. *590 The reporter was later raped in that room, and she heard her sister and friend scream from other rooms. *591 The reporter was taken home, but the sister and friend never returned. *592 The girls' mother received no assistance from local authorities or police. This report also names several other girls kept at the camp and assaulted. *593
Other sites of alleged sexual abuse included a large fire station, *594 a home for retarded children at Visegrad, *595 the Visegrad Hotel, *596 Hotel Bikavac, *597 and a camp set up in a building above a tunnel. *598 One report states that mass rapes occurred in public places such as restaurants, squares, and sports halls throughout Visegrad. *599 It also states that 300 women are registered as being victims of rape. *600
Many rapes in the Visegrad area were allegedly perpetrated in an apparently systematic fashion. Reports state that victims were rounded up and transported to places like the Hotel Vilina Vlas and the Hotel Visegrad, apparently for the purpose of being detained and raped. *601
The reported victims of sexual assault are identified primarily as Bosnian Muslim girls and women. No victims are reported to be Bosnian Serb or Bosnian Croat. Reports from Visegrad are somewhat unique in that the ages of the girls allegedly raped appear to be quite young. *602 Many of the reports refer to them as «children» or «young girls». The largest number of reported victims are the approximately 200 women and girls allegedly raped at the Vilina Vlas. *603
General Forces Identified:
This county is located in the north-eastern part of the centre of BiH, north-east of Sarajevo. Before the war this county had a population of 27,728, according to the 1991 census. Croats were the majority at 45.7 per cent, 41.4 per cent were Muslim, 7.5 per cent were «others», and 5.4 per cent were Serbs. This section contains four second-hand reports of sexual atrocities. The alleged perpetrators are identified as Bosnian Croat or HVO forces. The reports indicate that the incidents occurred in conjunction with fighting between Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim forces.
In April of 1992, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims attacked civilians of each other's ethnic group. Croatian soldiers raped women in a house-to-house sweep. *606 On 16 April, Croatian soldiers committed at least one gang-rape. *607 The final report alleges that 150 Bosnian Muslims were detained for 16 days at Brace Ribara school in Dubravica, where women were allegedly raped. The inmates were later freed through the intervention of the ICRC. *608
This county [¤] is in the central eastern section of BiH. The population was 33,817 before the war, according to the 1991 census. Muslims were the majority with 55.3 per cent of the population, 42.5 per cent were Serb, and the remaining 2.2 per cent were «others». There was a camp in the area, called Susica, which consisted of two warehouses and one small building surrounded by barbed wire. All the prisoners were kept together in one warehouse, measuring seven metres by 15 metres. At full capacity, it held an estimated 560 prisoners. *610 The military commander was identified, *611 and so was the administrative commander. *612
On 26 June 1992, two Serbian brothers from Vlasenica took three women from the camp and raped them. The victims told the other prisoners what happened when they returned. *613 Nikolic and Basic were both responsible for allowing young women to be taken out of the camp and raped on other occasions. *614 Basic told young Serbs to choose the women to be raped. According to one source, raped women were usually killed, and in one evening three women were killed. *615
This county is in the northern part of the centre of BiH. It had a prewar population of 145,577, according to the 1991 census. 55.2 per cent were Muslim, 15.6 per cent were Croat, 15.5 per cent were Serb, 10.8 per cent identified themselves as «Yugoslavs», and 2.9 per cent fell into the «other» category. This section of the study contains one general report stating that Bosnian Serb women were raped by Bosnian Muslim forces. *617 The only other report in this section states that an older woman was raped in Zenica. *618
This county [¤] is located on the eastern border of BiH and Serbia. Before the war, there was a population of 81,111, according to the 1991 census. Muslims were the majority at 59.4 per cent of the population, Serbs comprised 38 per cent of the population, and the remaining 2.6 per cent were described as «other». There are 35 reports in this section of the study, 28 of which are reports and seven of which are recorded as some form of testimony. Most of the victims are described as Bosnian Muslim, and most of the perpetrators are described generally as Serbian.
In May of 1992, Serb forces attacked the area of Zvornik. In conjunction with the attack, women in the villages of Kostijarevo and Drinjaca were allegedly raped after 25 to 35 men were killed in fighting. *620 Another report states that a 12 year old girl was raped and strangled in Salihovici, Zvornik. *621 In Kamenica, a «Cetnik» raped and kidnapped a 16 year old girl. *622 Another report, which may be describing the same incident, states that an identified Serb soldier kidnapped a 16 year-old girl, took her to Papraca, and kept her as his sexual slave. *623
The majority of the reports allege that women were sexually assaulted in Liplje, a small village of about 500. In May 1992, nearly 400 residents were reportedly held in the home of a prominent Muslim by Serb forces. During their captivity, young women were allegedly repeatedly raped. *624 Some girls were killed. The women described the men as dirty and on drugs. One man stated that he was raping girls «[b]ecause [they were] Muslims and there [were] too many of [them]». Another stated that they were planting «the seeds of Serbs in Bosnia». One young girl was raped by two «Cetniks» in front of her father. *625
Other reports alleged that a camp was set up in a school in Salihovici. That camp allegedly held 470 inmates. Reportedly, the youngest women were raped first, and then older women were raped. One report alleges that a girl was raped in front of her family. *626
Reports also allege that Bosnian Muslim women from Brcko were held in a lumber factory in Caparde, Zvornik, and 40 were taken out and raped by Arkan's troops. The women stated that their captors indicated that they were forced to commit acts of rape. *627
Several reports describe a camp in a shoe factory in Karakaj. There a female guard, a member of Arkan's troops, ordered men to have sexual intercourse with her. When they refused, she shot them. *628 One report called the factory the «Glinica» factory, and stated that 48 girls and women were raped there. *629
Another camp was at a theatre in Celopek, where 163 men were housed. One day, three «Cetniks» came to the camp. One called out the names of seven pairs of men. The men were mostly fathers and sons or close relatives. The guard forced seven of the men to kneel down and bite off the penises of the other seven. Three of the men died. *630 The other prisoners were forced to watch. A week or 10 days later, another of the guards cut off a man's penis with a knife. *631 According to another source, the guard made this man eat his severed penis. *632 The same source reported that this guard beat a prisoner with a wooden stick and shoved the stick into the man's anus, causing the victim to bleed profusely. He stated that the guard, who was often drunk, forced prisoners to perform sex acts with each other. The prisoners were taken to Batkovic in late June and finally released in February 1993. *633
According to one report, at camp Novi Izvor, just inside the Bosnian border, a guard raped a 17 year old female inmate in his room. *634 There were also reported locations in Zvornik where women were forced to serve as sexual slaves. *635 Finally, detainees were kept in a camp in an unidentified warehouse. *636
Since the arrival of UNPROFOR in the municipality of Benkovac, *638 27 Croatians were killed. They were, on average, over 60 years old and some were reportedly raped. The municipal government alleged that these murders were part of a systematic plan to rid the area of Croats. *639
[¤] In February of 1992, Croatian police or members of the National Guard reportedly raped, tortured, and killed members of a Serbian family. The commanding officer was allegedly involved. There were four people in the family, and their identities are on file with the government of Yugoslavia. *640
According to the ECMM, in late August 1991, an unidentified Serbian woman was allegedly raped by Croatian soldiers. They then killed her and dismembered her body. *641 From September to November, residents of Drnis were reportedly imprisoned. While imprisoned, the prisoners were forced to perform oral sex on guards and each other. They were also forced to perform mutual masturbation. Young CNG soldiers were reportedly targeted for sexual abuse. *642
[¤] In late March 1993, one witness reports that he heard barking dogs in the middle of the night. He tried to awaken his wife, but could not. He left the house, believing that she would be all right. He hid in the woods outside the house and heard gunfire in or near the house. He returned to find his wife dead, with extensive damage to her head and signs of what «seemed certain to be rape». *643
In a village in Gospic, on 14 November 1992, two masked and armed men broke into a house. They beat the male of the household and burglarized the residence. One of the men attempted to rape the woman of the house, but his companion stopped him. *644
A witness reported that in the fall of 1991, he saw «the legion, the infantry and the tanks» rape a girl in town and then kill her. *645
In late October 1992, Croatian prisoners from Manjaca camp in Banja Luka, BiH were taken to Knin for a prisoner exchange. There, the exchange fell through and the prisoners were taken to Knin prison for the night. Prison guards, unknown civilians, and guards from the camp reportedly forced the prisoners to lick the floor in the restroom, copulate in each other's mouths and sing Cetnik songs. The prisoners were returned to Manjaca the next day. *646 In another report, a witness to the raping of a 70 year old woman and her 15 year old granddaughter said that they were beaten on the head by a Croatian soldier, knocked unconscious, and then raped. The Croatian was a neighbour of the victims. *647
In late 1991, a 57 year old woman was imprisoned in a village in this municipality [¤]. Guards raped the woman, forced other prisoners to rape her, conducted shock treatments on her legs, and killed her husband. *648
[¤] On 2 August 1991, members of the Croatian National Guard and members of the Croatian Police force reportedly raped and killed a number of unarmed civilians in a village. *649 In November of the same year, Serb forces «cleansed» another village of non-Serbs. In the process, they raped girls and women. *650
A 50 year-old Serbian woman stated that while she was detained at Sisak Prison, cigarettes were extinguished on her breast. She also saw young Serbian girls, lined up for «bathing» by the «Ustasi» guards at the prison. *651 Another report pertains to a 54 year old Croatian woman who was escorted by UNPROFOR to the Medical Centre in Pakrac for treatment for injuries resulting from a rape incident. She alleged that the perpetrators were three Serbian soldiers. *652 In another account, a Croatian soldier who witnessed the occurrences at the concentration camp Brijest (which interned some 500 Serbian prisoners) stated that there were approximately 80 women in detention. According to the reporter, four women were subjected to rape on a daily basis. *653
Allegations that Bosnian women were taken to «bordellos» and camps in the Slavonski Brod region are discussed in the Bosanski Brod and Odzak counties section, in the part of this study on BiH. See that section for more details. There is only one allegation of women taken from Croatia to this area for sexual assault. In July of 1992, female Serb prisoners from Poljari and Rabici were reportedly taken to a site in Slavonski Brod, where women were made available for sexual entertainment. *654
According to the statement of a Croatian rape victim, following the «Cetnik» occupation only 16 people remained in her village. On several occasions thereafter, «Cetniks» entered her home to interrogate her. In February of 1993, two men went to her house, where they beat and raped her. She tried to report the attack to the Serbian police, but was not allowed to speak to the higher ranking officers. She attempted to ask UNPROFOR for help, but they said they could not help her. In April, three men with Cetnik marks on their caps knocked on her door. They threatened to harm her and tried to set her bed on fire, but the oldest of the three men stopped these attempts. The «most violent» of the three raped the witness. She again reported the rape to UNPROFOR and was evacuated in May. *655 Another incident occurred in the village of Licko Petrovo Selo, where a woman was tied to four stakes in the ground in a horizontal position. The witness stated that she was raped repeatedly by several Serbian soldiers who stated throughout the episode «that Yugoslavia was theirs . . . that they fought for it in World War II [and] that it'll be like this for everyone who doesn't listen». *656
Lora Camp, in Split county, was run by Croatians and housed Bosnian Serbs. There, men were forced to rape women and each other. *657 Additionally, electrodes were attached to men's penises, *658 and on one occasion, a camp guard put a thick rubber glove on his hand and rammed it into the anus of one of the prisoners. *659
This section of the study contains two allegations of sexual assault. One report states that 24 Croatian soldiers were found and some of them had been castrated. *660 The second report indicates that there was a detention facility in the county where a named person forced prisoners to sit on bottles, forcing them into their anuses. *661
There is only one report of a sexual atrocity in this county [¤]. In July of 1991, members of the CDU reportedly arrested a man, dragged him from his car, and castrated him. *662
There are 20 reported cases of sexual atrocities in this section of the study. Seven of them concern a camp set up at Velepromet warehouse in the city of Vukovar in the last week of November 1991. *663 The camp allegedly served as a major collection point for thousands of captured civilians for several days after the occupation of Vukovar. *664 It was controlled by Serbians and «Cetniks» and housed Croatian civilians. *665 There, men were subject to genital beatings and castration. In one case, Serbian soldiers allegedly cut the testicles and penis off of a Croatian man. *666 In another case, a victim reported that he was repeatedly beaten in the genital area at the warehouse and that a group of male prisoners, including himself, were lined up, their genitals were tied together with wire, and they were forced to walk around the room in which they were held. *667 Another victim identified a man who tied the victim's testicles with a piece of wire and struck them with a blunt object. *668
Women were also subject to sexual assault. Prisoners stated that they could hear the screams of women as they were raped. *669 Another witness states that an identified pregnant woman he knew and 15 other Croatian women were raped while at the camp. A Serbian woman who was married to a Croatian man was also raped. *670 A final source states merely that the warehouse was a place of «brutal rape». *671
Sexual assault was also committed outside of this camp. In late September 1991, a Captain raped two 14 year old girls in front of their grandmother and then killed all three. *672 In October, young Croatian girls who served the Serbian volunteers were forced to have sexual intercourse. The men threatened to kill the girls' families if they refused. *673 In the second week in November, a doctor witnessed a member of the ZNG rape a young girl at the ZNG headquarters. He had been called to examine a patient at the site. *674 In that same month, an Albanian woman reported that she was repeatedly interrogated and raped for 12 hours by a group of Yugoslav People's Army soldiers. *675 In another incident in December, an elderly woman was killed and her daughter raped by an identified man. *676 According to another witness, an identified man repeatedly raped a Croatian woman, taking her in the evenings and returning her in the morning. *677 In a separate report, a 50 year old Croatian woman was raped and forced to perform oral sex on seven members of the Serbian «White Eagles». *678 In another case, a 54 year old Croatian woman alleged that she was raped and tortured by Serbian soldiers following the occupation and fall of Vukovar. *679 A final report states that an unidentified Croatian male was found in a mass grave. He had been castrated. *680 An additional source suggests that a member of a Serbian paramilitary group was accused by the Croatian government of killing 150 people and raping 30 women. The accused admitted to participating in gang raping activities. *681
In this county [¤], three Croatian guardsmen allegedly raped a Serbian woman in front of her husband and cut off his ears. *682
There was reportedly a camp in this county [¤] called Kerestinec, run by the Republic of Croatia, housing Serbian inmates. At the camp, there were reports of forced fellatio, rapes, and other sexual mistreatment. One of the reporters of the assaults suffered a miscarriage due to the treatment. *683 In another report, the information alleges that Croatian President Franjo Tudjman is responsible for war crimes, including those committed by T. Mercep's men. Allegedly Mercep's men raped the mother and the daughter of a local family and then killed all the members of the family. *684
One report, which identifies the village/location only as Sector south, reports that six uniformed men broke into the house of an identified Croatian woman and attempted to rape her in December of 1992. *685 Two other reports detail the rape of two women at a camp Bucje. The first is an elderly Croatian woman whose victimization was memorialized on film. Her Serbian captors tortured her with electric shocks and gang-raped her. The second woman was similarly victimized but, in addition to filming the entire episode, the perpetrators beat her and forced a truncheon inside her. *686
This study contains 19 reports that rape and sexual assault were committed in Serbia. Two reports allege that women, among a group of 812 Bosnian Muslim refugees from Gacko, were raped in a railway station in Kosovo Polje in July of 1992. *688 At some kind of camp in Novi Sad, also in July of 1992, a victim reported that guards touched her all over and attempted to undress her. They asked for volunteers to rape her. When no one volunteered, she was left alone. However, the guards forced her to manually examine another woman to see if the other woman was a virgin. The two women were then forced to do «something», but the witness does not specify what. *689
Four reports concern the sexual abuse of an identified woman, reportedly of subnormal intelligence, at Sremska Mitrovica prison. The woman was definitely held from December 1991 through February of 1993. *690 Guards and regular criminals in the prison allegedly raped this woman. Additionally, other prisoners-of-war were reportedly forced to «exploit her sexually». *691
The other reports allege that women were raped in Begejci Camp, Stajicevo Camp, Livade Camp, *692 and another unidentified camp, all in the Vojvodina region. The reported events occurred in the fall and winter of 1991. One woman from the Vukovar area states that the population of the camp was about 2,000. She was forced to have oral, anal and vaginal sex, and cigarettes were extinguished on her body while she was imprisoned at the camp from 8 October 1991 to 10 December 1991. Her first night, she was raped by seven men. She and the other female prisoners were raped almost every night. *693 A general report states that women were raped in the concentration camps of Begejci and Stajicevo during the autumn and winter of 1991. *694 Another woman states that she and the other women of her group were taken to Stajicevo briefly and then on to Begejci. On the way, three JA soldiers forced the witness to kiss them and threatened to rape and kill her. *695
Begejci camp reportedly held about 600 inmates. One Croatian woman, who was captured across the river from Vukovar, Croatia, while attempting to flee to Hungary, was taken to Begejci. According to her statement, she was taken to the camp in late October, where about 600 males and six females were imprisoned. She stated that she was forced to be a slave to 30 Serbian Reservists. The second week in November, 30 more women were brought in. The witness states that they were treated the same way. She was taken to the Military prison in Belgrade 14 November 1991. There, a Serbian reservist raped her in a bathroom. She was kept in solitary confinement, and the reservist raped her repeatedly during his work shift. She stated that he was often drunk and beat her if she did not please him. *696
Another woman was taken to Begejci. She estimates the population at 500, with five women in the camp. She states that she was not beaten but was sexually maltreated by one reservist who did not permit other, threatening reservists to do the same. She was taken to VIZ army prison in Belgrade and questioned by a reservist. *697 He took her to a bathroom, forced her to take off her clothes, and beat her. He sexually assaulted the witness, but, she states, he did not rape her. *698 The last report concerning Begejci states only that a man and a woman were forced to engage in sexual relations there. *699
One Croatian Muslim woman states that she was taken to a camp in Livade, near Zrenjanin, Serbia. There, she states she was raped by seven men, orally, anally, and vaginally. She and the Croatian women held there were reportedly raped every night. The women ranged in age from 17 to 50 years old. On 12 December, she was taken to Sid. There, she states that the same things occurred, but she makes no statement or allegation of rape. *700
At an unnamed Serb-run camp in Vojvodina, a woman reports that she was forced to keep a guard's penis erect in her mouth. She was forced to remain kneeling and if any semen spilled onto the ground, she was beaten. *701 Another report states that there was a «bordello» for the army, where a kidnapped Bosnian Muslim 15 year old woman was forced to perform sexual services. *702 According to the last source, non-Serbs were raped and harassed in Vojvodina as more Serb refugees came into the area. *703
Associated notes